Mike's Charge
by ALittleOverrated
Summary: After several weeks on the job, Mike makes a rookie mistake and is killed. Coming back in the brand new Wyless Wolf suit, and as the only (trustworthy) adult in the pizzeria, he must learn to care for the dead children as a parent. FNaF belongs to Scott Cawthon, OC designs belong to the author. Rated T just in case.
1. Chapter 1

FNaF Fanfiction: Redux and Re-edited~!

Mike Schmidt ran a hand through his messy, brown hair.

"Another night, another twenty-five bucks..." He muttered to himself, flipping through the cameras on his tablet. Well, it wasn't his tablet, it belonged to Fazbear Entertainment. But he worked for them, as a night guard for Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, just one restaurant in the large chain.

He flinched as he heard raspy moaning in his left ear. It was quiet, but he knew it came from Bonnie, a purple rabbit animatronic that performed during the day and hunted him at night.

Slamming his hand on a button, therefore closing the door on Bonnie, he took a moment to admire his handiwork. After his first week, the company had wanted to fire him, going so far as giving him the pink slip. Still, with no one else offering to take up his position, he had been re-hired the following month. With more security on staying in his post, he had chosen to clean up the office, get all the cobwebs off the furniture, etc. The door buttons didn't stick anymore, and the office itself was much more appealing.

Glancing at the opposite door and finding nothing, he checked the cameras once more. Freddy was in the kitchen, Foxy at the cove, Chica in the dining room, and Bonnie in the supply closet.

He opened the door. No sense in wasting power. Choosing to sit back for a few moments, he took a sip from a soda he had brought. Even after working here for several weeks, the animatronics could be tricky and he often left at six AM mentally exhausted. If it weren't for sodas, and the odd coffee, he wouldn't have made it so long.

Chica had chosen to walk a bit faster and stood, gaping, at the right hand door. With a flick of the wrist, he shut it and was back to checking cameras. Freddy had moved back to the dining room, but Bonnie and Foxy had not changed. Glancing at the door, he saw Chica had moved elsewhere, se he opened it up once again.

He sighed, leaning back in his swivel chair and propping up his feet. A few moments of peace, that was what he needed. Just a few minutes of assurance that he wasn't going to be killed. He had nothing against the animatronics, but it was a bit problematic when they were trying to kill him on a false note. They thought he was an endoskeleton and would try to stuff him into a costume. This was because they had been programmed to suit up any endoskeleton they saw to prevent customers from becoming confused or scared at the robotic sight, instead of the familiar anthropomorphic animals. It wasn't their fault, it was the fault of whomever had chosen to program that particular quirk into their AI.

Check lights. Check cameras. Sip soda. Rinse and repeat. That's what things came down to. There was no 'off' button for the animatronics. Even if there was, keeping them off for too long could lock up their servos, and could cost the company a fortune fixing or replacing the animatronics. He'd get fired for sure.

Following his pattern, he clicked on the door lights. Chica was being relentless, having appeared back at the doorway. He offhandedly shut the door before grabbing his tablet to keep tabs on everyone.

One of the last cameras he checked was cam 2A, the one beside Pirate's Cove, where Foxy usually lurked. He expected it to be empty, or at the most see Bonnie standing at the back. That certain animatronic wasn't in the hall, however, one was. It was Foxy.

The realization took nearly a second to reach him. He shouted out as he saw the all too familiar rust red fox come dashing down the corridor. Throwing down the tablet, he heard it hit the tiled floor with a 'clunk.' He couldn't be sure of whether it broke or not, but that wasn't the matter. What was the matter was that a robot was about to pop through his doorway and kill him.

Using all of the speed and reflex learned from the previous weeks on the job, he shot forward out of his seat and hit the button. Time seemed to slow as the door slid down and the fox appeared. Foxy leaned down at an angle...

And skidded into the room, metal endoskeleton feet making a screeching sound against the tile floor just as the door shut completely. He screamed in terror as the fox towered over him, jaw permanently opened in a horrible smile. Cold, robotic hands grabbed for him, and the chair tipped back, dumping him onto the floor.

 _This is it_ , he thought to himself. _After a record breaking three weeks, I'm going to die._

The pirate fox picked him up by his uniform's collar, pointed hook ripping through the fabric. He felt an animatronic eye on him (the other was covered by the eye patch at the time), but shut his eyes tightly, in terror.

There was the familiar sound of the heavy electromagnetic door opening. After several moments he began to sway back and forth, nearly a foot in the air. Questioningly, he opened his eyes just enough to see out.

He was being carried down the hallway, the fox swinging him as he was taken down the hall. They passed a clock, the time reading 4:36. The six AM alarm wouldn't be saving him tonight. Unable to think of anything else, he went limp like the man that left tutorials on the phone had said to do. If he played dead, the animatronics might think he was just an empty suit. They might let him live. With any luck, they might not think to try stuffing an endoskeleton inside him.

Foxy tossed him into the backstage room, the other three animatronics already waiting. He landed with a 'thump,' his knees complaining as he fell on them. Not that a bruise took priority in a situation like this. Turning around, he saw the four animatronics leaning over him, ready to end his life.

The dull metal table was prepped with an empty suit, ready just for him. It wasn't a Freddy suit like he had been told, instead, it was an ashy grey creature, eyes dark. It had a more prominent snout, not unlike Foxy's.

Thick hands gripped his shoulders, torso, legs. Arms shoved him forward, readied the suit. He began to scream in terror, the knowledge that this was truly the end looming over him. Passing out, his last sensation was that of a horrible pain as he was both crushed into a suit and ripped apart by countless metal contraptions within...

 **-Time skip to Sunday Morning, 12 am. Deal with it.-**

His mind was fuzzy, thoughts blurred and nonsensical as he swam in and out of consciousness. Even after his ordeal however long ago, he felt fine. Perhaps a little sore, but otherwise fine.

He sat on a cold, metal table, shelves lining the walls, animatronic heads cramping each one. He was facing a door, and a sliver of light escaped through it- he realized he was still in the backstage storage. Questioningly, he looked down at his himself... and almost gagged.

His 'hands' were thick animatronic paws. Dried streaks of blood ran up the arm to the suit's neck. He felt numb in shock, he couldn't think.

Except...

No...

No.

NO-

He was dead, murdered, just like the man on the phone had said.

He shivered, gasps escaping his animatronic suit despite him no longer having any breath- the beginnings of sobs that wouldn't come.

"Freddy... He might be awake now. Can we go see him?"

 _Oh no. They're coming back for me now._

"No Chica, we need to give him time, he-"

"Freddy, pretty please?"

"No."

"With sprinkles on top?"

"Fine! We'll go see him! But he's probably not even awake yet, so don't blame me when you're disappointed!"

 _How can those monsters be disappointed?! The can't have emotions, they can't think, they took away my life!_ He thought in a panic. _There's no telling what they're going to do to me now..._

The door swung open, hitting the wall with a crash. There stood one... Two, three, four animatronics, eyes wide open and mouths gaping in an insane smile.

He stared at them for a few moments, and they stared back. Then, out of the awkward silence, one of them spoke. It was Chica who moved her jaw.

"Hello Wyless!"

- **Mike's POV-**

"W- Wyless...?" It was my voice. My human voice. Not that I was comforted.

She looked at me oddly for a few moments before answering.

"Well, that _is_ you! What else would we call you?" She sounded like a... kid. Eleven or twelve, at the best. But that voice didn't suit the monster before him.

"I..I..." I don't have any words to say. Well... maybe that's not so true. "Why did you do this to me?" I ask, quietly at first, then louder. "WHY?!"

I lurch off the table, but instead of standing, I collapse onto the floor, staring at the thick feet belonging to the animatronics.

Freddy bends down, looking at me worriedly of all things, and steps forward to grab me. He and Bonnie grasp my arms with a steady grip and begin to haul me out of the room, albeit almost gently.

"Where are we going?" I ask despairingly, dragging my feet along the floor in some sort of effort to stop this thing from taking me to wherever we were going.

I struggle against the animatronics, wanting them to release me. Still, my efforts are for nothing as I am shoved into a darkened room- one I recognize as the kitchen. A feeble light shines from a nearby room, illuminating pots and pans. I'm practically tossed into the side room with the light.

Bonnie looks me over, sadly. "I'm sorry sir, just calm down. Please. We'll be back for you in a bit. Don't worry, you'll be fine. Don't be scared."

Before I can take in my new surroundings, Freddy flips off the small light and shuts the door, plunging the room into darkness. I hear the door lock with a small click.

"DARN IT FREDDY! WE WERE IN THE MIDDLE OF SOMETHING! CAN'T YOU JUST LEAVE US IN PEACE FOR ONCE?!" Shouts a feminine voice. Several seconds later, the small light clicks back on, illuminating the small room.

Standing before me is a cat like animatronic. To its left is a rabbit. They are both beaten up and damaged, and are a dirty gold color. "Whoa. A new animatronic." Bending down, she helps me stand up from the position I was in- flopped on the floor, the result of being shoved into a small room with little motor control. Seeing I can barely stand on my own, she assists me in leaning against a wall. She tips her head, deep in thought. "Did they kill you too?"

I process her question, answering once I am standing unsteadily but without fear of falling thanks in part to the wall. "Yes... they did."

 _Wait, too? Does that mean-_ "Are you human? Did they murder you too?"

"Well, yes, I was human. But it was my fault I died. They took out Spring over there." She replies, motioning to the rabbit, who gives me an unsettling stare.

"Were you an old night guard? Is that why you're back here, all alone?" I ask, becoming increasingly confused.

"Uh, no, we weren't night guards. I actually died when I was thirteen. Being dead for years now, though, I like to think of myself as being at least eighteen. Mentally." She taps her head.

I glance at the rabbit. It doesn't look particularly unfriendly. By its feet are several playing cards, scattered, presumably when the cat had stood up to turn on the light.

"Oh um..." She says. "Also, I'm not a cat like everyone thinks. My suit's supposed to be an otter. At least that's what I heard, and Spring thinks so too."

"Okay..." I reply, slowing sliding down the wall into a sitting position, already better at controlling myself.

In front of me, the two have gone back to their game. Gathering the cards, they have begun playing as another question comes to my mind.

"Who are you?" I ask, addressing the rabbit. "Are you an adult, or a teenager? And are the other animatronics older as well? They seemed young-"

"Stop talking, and I might answer some of your idiotic questions!" The rabbit growls, annoyed by my sudden burst of questions, it seems.

"Yes, I'm an adult. Been one since the day I died. You don't get younger with age, even after death, you know. As for those nasty kids... Yeah, I'd say they're around twelve maybe. They looked very nice when I-"

"Uh, don't-" The otter starts, trying to stop the rabbit, Spring, from continuing.

"When I watched the life bleed out of their little seven year old bodies..." It, likely a he, finishes.

I'm disgusted, and I'm sure it shows. He notices, and gives a dark laugh.

"Don't overthink it. It was... A coincidence..." She says, trying to cover up his mistakes. "He's just like that sometimes. Don't worry."

"Okay... Okay..." I reply uncomfortably. "But why did they kill me? I don't think it's really because they thought I was an endoskeleton."

"Nah." She replies. "Actually, they're just sad. I mean, dying is something tough to get over. They just want an adult they can trust to comfort them, is my guess. That's nothing we can provide." She motions to herself and Spring.

"Uh..."

She looked straight at me as she spoke, "They want a... Parental figure, Mike. Someone to talk to and hug and-"

"WAIT, WHAT?"


	2. Chapter 2

I can't comprehend it. Taking the role of a parent... For a bunch of dead children? No way I'm ready for that. Not to mention, I'm currently locked in a room with two robots that look like they're about to fall to pieces.

I'm just so confused, about everything.

I try to appear calm by voicing my questions and concerns one at a time.

"So... Why are you so beaten up and damaged? Is it because of age, or something else?" I address the otter, trying to keep my voice steady.

"Well bad treatment, rotting in storage, it was general stuff that did our suits in," She replies, "Spring's suit is actually older than mine, he was at the pizzeria for the grand opening, Stage 01. Mine was brought to the restaurant a few months later, but was never used."

"Oh. So... Um, what animatronic am I? What am I supposed to do? Oh, and what's your name?" I ask.

"My name's Olive." She then takes a moment to think about my other questions. "You're-"

She is interrupted by the door unlocking with a "click" and swinging open. Crowding the kitchen and doorway are the four main animatronics.

"Wyless?" Freddy asks softly. "Did you calm down? Can you come out?"

Chica pipes in, albeit louder. "I'm sorry for scaring you! It was an accident! I was just so excited to see you!"

I don't want to come out, but it's not that I'd rather be in here. I'd rather be at my apartment, alive.

"I'm ready to come out now. I really am." I reply, my voice wavering slightly.

"That's GREAT!" Says Bonnie. "We can play a game to get to know each other and it's going to be so much fun and-"

Freddy cuts off the little bunny. "I think he gets it."

"Um... Okay." I say uncomfortably.

"Can Spring and I play the game too?" Olive asks from behind me. I turn around enough to see the two standing. The rabbit, Spring, looks wholly uninterested, even angry, but doesn't complain.

Freddy glances at them suspiciously. "Fine..." He says. "I guess everyone should play. We need to get the others out from the basement though."

"Wait, others?!" I ask. Is there, perhaps, another adult? How many did these 'kids' kill? I remember from the phone calls that most people didn't make it to their third night. I had hopes he wasn't implying they died but...

"Yep." Says Foxy. "But like Freddy said, they're in the basement. If you'd like, I can show you where they are."

I'm surprised that Foxy doesn't sound much like a pirate. He must just be laying it on thick during the day, to suit his role.

"Sure." I reply. Foxy takes my hand and I flinch, but he doesn't seem to notice and drags me out of the kitchen, grinning slightly. Realizing I can still barely move, he supports me we walk.

He takes me through the dining room and into the backstage storage, where I first woke up. Opening a door I hadn't noticed before, and was in a blind spot of the cameras, he motions for me to go down with a wave of his hook.

I stare down the steps and into the darkness below. Reaching out with a hand, I click the light switch and the basement is illuminated below me. Looking back, I find Foxy has left.

I make my way down the metal steps, grasping onto the railing to keep from falling. I am nearly at the bottom when I hear a sort of sigh.

I reach the bottom of the staircase and take a look around me. The basement walls are made from cinderblock, with a coat of white paint over them. The floor is a simple stone like material. A few boxes litter the floor, particularly around the corners. But turning around, I find the source of the odd noise. An orange animatronic lies in a crumpled heap in the back corner, wincing at the harsh light, a paw over its eyes.

I approach it carefully, managing to keep my balance. It is what appears to be a tiger, and lays with its eyes closed. I am about to speak when it shifts its position to face away from me.

"Get away from me. I told you this before! Just leave me alone, and go burn in a fire or- or, something!" It, well, he says, voice fading into a sniffle. I can't quite decipher where I've heard this voice before, as I am sure I have. When I do, I'm shocked.

"You're... You're the man... That left messages on the phone..." I say quietly.

The cat jerks and sits up shakily, staring directly at me. Except for some slight stains around the eye sockets, it is mostly clean of blood and grime. Much nicer than myself, still bloody and messy- in other words, a walking corpse.

"Oh no... They got someone else..." He says, sounding defeated. "I had hoped the training tapes would prevent this..."

I don't respond, having nothing to say. He's so different from the other man, the one in the golden rabbit suit. Instead of trying to be intimidating, he sounds like he has nothing left in him.

"I'm so, so sorry..." He says to me. "There was nothing I could do to stop them from hunting the night guards..."

"It's not your fault I died." I tell him. "I shouldn't have come back week after week." That much is true.

He shakes his head. "Being able to survive more than three nights is a miracle. The lucky ones are able to quit before that. But so far, no one else has died. Thankfully."

"Why are you down here?" I ask. "Why aren't you performing?"

"Uh, well-"

"Hey, Tam's acting like he's conscious for once!" Cries out a voice from behind me.

I whirl around and end up falling against a wall before I can see who was speaking. Using the wall for support I stand, finally getting a good look at whatever it was.

Two figures stand before us. One is thin and lanky. Its body is midnight-black, except for thin white stripes around its wrists and ankles. Its face is a creamy white, with bright red 'blush' and purple lines resembling tear trails. Like it's forever crying.

The other looks like Freddy, but is the gold of the otter and rabbit. It is beaten up, but not so much as they were.

"Not another one..." I mumble under my breath. Well, it would be if I still breathed.

The black creature jerks its head around to stare at me. "Why did you come down here, Mr. Schmidt?"

"Uh..." I'm surprised that he called me by my human name. Then again, this creature is quite different from the others. Come to think of it, how did he know it in the first place?

"Bonnie wanted everyone to come upstairs. For a game." I stutter slightly, but get the words out.

"Okay. Oh, and you can call me Marionette, and he's Goldie."

"Or you could call him Mari. Or Puppet!" Exclaims the bear, Goldie.

Marionette gives him a friendly shove before turning and heading up the stairs. Goldie gives me one last glance before heading up the staircase as well.

Tamarin watches them leave. "They stay down here in the basement. At least they're quiet, most of the time." He comments absently.

"Hm." I reply, helping him up.

He stares me down, taking in everything about my suit. "Uh, what's you're name?"

"Mike. Well, Michael."

"Okay. You can call me- well, Tamarin. No sense in going by my real name, I suppose." He replies, giving me a sad smile. "But if you need something, I'm here. It's nice for there to be another adult to speak to when you need it."

"It gets lonely, I'm sure..." I reply, remembering all the time spent alone at this job, spending six hours a night in silence.

He sighs. "Don't worry. You'll make it through. Come on, now. We'd best be getting upstairs before they send someone else down. He takes my hand and leads me to the staircase. Letting go, he begins up the stairs, with myself coming up behind him, taking care not to fall. Despite everything that's going on, I find it surprising that I'm now able to move okay, despite having "awoken" barely... what, an hour ago?

Shutting the door behind us, I turn and follow him out of the backstage to the dining room. There, the others wait for us. Spring isolates himself from the other animatronics, who show no interest in them moving closer. Olive sits beside him, either to keep him company or annoy him. I still haven't figured out her true intentions behind being so friendly, and I want to suspect the latter. Tamarin and I cautiously sit beside the other animatronics, the "kids." By chance, I am seated right next to Bonnie, who smiles at me.

Darn, even when I hate them for killing me, they can be so adorable.

Bonnie stands and claps his hands together, but only succeeds in making a thumping sound.

"Okay, so we're going play a _really cool_ game to get to know Wyless better. He's already proven to be the best wolf we've ever had, since he managed to get Tamarin out of the basement!"

"Enough with the jokes, Bonnie. Just get on with it." Asks Spring, acting the forever sadistic, or at the very least insane rabbit he's already proven himself to be.

"We're going to be doing something like truth or dare, but without the dare. So, you ask someone a question, and they give you the answer. That way we can all learn some more about each other, especially Wyless. Well, we already know each other pretty well anyway but its going to be fun!"

"I'll start!" Yells Chica, obviously eager.

"Uh, shouldn't we let Wyless start?" Freddy asks. Chica slowly nods, and looks to me.

"Oh... okay." I reply awkwardly. "So um... Spring! What's your favorite color?" I'd rather not be doing this, but if I have to, I might as well see if I can learn some more about everyone else. A favorite color, however, probably wasn't the smartest question to ask.

He looks at me oddly for a few seconds, and I can tell he didn't expect anyone to ask him a question, let alone me. Then, he puts his arm out. A shred of dark purple fabric peeks through one of the small holes.

"Purple, most definitely. I wore it on the day I was brutally chased down and murdered. By those five." He answers, motioning to the animatronics gathered around.

Goldie stands up suddenly. "Served you right, you monster."

Spring is unfazed. "Ah well. Marionette, on the topic of murder, what do you think it's like?" He glances over at me. "You know, hypothetically speaking, of course. Or maybe not."

Marionette is taken aback. "Err..." He looks a bit uncomfortable.

Spring seems about to make some sort of joke for this when Foxy speaks up.

"Uh, it's almost six. We should get back into place."

The others mumble in agreement, and begin moving back to their spots. Chica is helping Bonnie climb up the steps to the show stage when I speak up. "Wait, why? And where do I go?!"

Foxy addresses Tamarin and me. "The place is closed on Sundays, but cleaning staff come in today. They'll make sure all the blood and such is cleaned off of you two, and then you'll be joining me at Pirate's Cove."

"Won't they mind the blood?" Tamarin asks.

"Not the slightest. They never have before, and they're paid to keep this kind of thing quiet." Foxy replies. "Oh, and you two had better practice your pirate speak. But don't worry, I'll help you two get used to it, it's really fun!"

I blink. For a little while, I had forgotten what Olive had told me, that they just want me to be a kind of parent. So, I pat Foxy on the head, and he beams at me. It's a bit awkward, as they are just a tall as I am, but he doesn't seem to mind.

Tamarin and I head down the basement steps. Goldie and Marionette sit together in one corner, and we sit in the opposite one. Before long, we hear whirring as janitors come in and begin to clean.

There is a thump as several men open the basement door and make their way down the steps, balancing several large cleaning tools. I'm surprised when I see who is last.

It's the manager.


	3. Chapter 3

**-Tamarin's POV-**

 _I sit, nothing but another slumped form in the corner of a basement. The basement in none other than Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, aka House of Horror._

 _Now and again, an animatronic would come down the stairs and try to interact with me, but I had always just turned away. I kept telling myself, again and again, that I'm just hallucinating. That all those weeks, months, spent as a night guard have been getting to me. That everything in the past- the death of my brother in law, my nephew, was making me image things._

 _But today, I can no longer pretend. Several men had come by me in the night, and I had been cleaned of most of the blood that had run down my arms and torso. I had wondered why, and now I know. It was because she was coming._

 _The manager of Freddy Fazbear's Pizza came down the metal stairs that led to the basement. Behind him was someone I had thought I'd never see again. It was my girlfriend, Lori. The woman I loved, the one I had been engaged to before my untimely death. I watched her follow him down._

 _"Look, sir, it's been four months now. I understand you've filed a missing persons report, but he disappeared during work hours. Can't you do anything else?"_

 _"I'm afraid there's nothing else to do. As far as you know, the animatronics were in their proper places that night. The restaurant wasn't broken into either."_

 _"Well, is there some sort of job hazard I should know about? Every job has hazards."_

 _"I showed you his contract. 'If death or dismemberment should occur, a missing persons report will be filed within 90 days, or as soon as the carpets have been replaced and the floors bleached.' As a company, there's nothing we can do."_

 _"Well, why did you bring me down here then?"_

 _"Because this is the one place we don't have cameras. I could show you the video proof for the entire restaurant except down here, so you can look for yourself."_

 _I watch Lori look around the basement. She opens various boxes, but finds nothing of interest. But reaching me, she pauses, and runs a hand through my fur. "Is this... Blood?"_

 _The manager pulls her away quickly, leading her up the stairs. "Of course not. Just some grit and such that got on it during shipping. Nothing more to it."_

 _She takes one last glance down at me before walking up the rest of the stairs. They continue their conversation upstairs, but I have heard enough. There is no_ _hope for me. The company will cover up everything. I had tried to hold out, and even after death I thought someone would find me. Now, however, I know the truth._

 _If I could still cry, I would be sobbing. But I can't. Just like I can't breathe, and whistle, and be with Lori..._

 **-Mike's POV-**

Tamarin sat with his eyes closed while the men cleaned our suits. They had scraped much of the blood off of my suit before washing my suit several times. Tamarin was mostly clean, but was still given touch-ups.

"Should we remove the... Bodies?" One of the men asked.

"No, just make sure you remove the smell. Best hiding place for a murder in the world, no one would ever think to look for a victim there."

This leads to a good amount of squirting and spraying as they try to remove whatever smell we have. Satisfied that customers won't be able to tell that we have dead bodies inside of us, they all pack up and head back upstairs. All, that is, except for the manager. He stands in front of me, looking into my eyes.

I feel almost obliged to say something. But what do I say to him? 'Hey there, it's me, Mike. That security guard that's now _dead._ Fancy seeing you here, hm?' Yeah, I don't think so.

"You know Mike, I don't really believe in 'the fourth wall,' and all that biz. There's no way for me to know for sure, but if you are here, even though you're dead, I apologize. And not because I'm worried you'll try and stuff _me_ into a suit out of spite."

I'm genuinely shocked. How- what- I don't understand. Sure, it was my fault for coming back night after night. But this is the man who sentences employee after employee to almost certain death and then covers up the evidence without a care for their friends or families.

"Now, I'm almost definitely talking to just another animatronic right now. But if you are, say, possessing this suit, or just still aware, somewhere, then I'm sorry for what I've done, all the pain and tears I've caused. But my family needs the money, and repairing these bots would be a lot more trouble and money than just hiring another night guard. So, my apologies. Still, I've got another night guard for this week. Maybe she'll be just as good as you were, before your little slip up. Lori, I think it is. She has ties to the restaurant, from a previous night guard."

And with that, the manager heads up the steps, leaving us alone, save for Goldie and Marionette, who watch us curiously from the corner.

Tamarin still sits with his eyes closed, but I know he is active. "Tamarin? You there?" I ask him, giving him a nudge.

He startles and jerks his head. "Oh... Sorry, I was daydreaming. Well, reminiscing is probably more accurate."

"About what?"

"Something personal, Michael."

"Okay, sorry I asked."

Tamarin stands up. "I can't believe we'll be performing tomorrow. I- I don't know if I'm ready."

"And we'll be getting a new night guard." I point out. Tamarin blinks, then the realization hits him.

"Don't you get what that means? They'll try to kill him!" He shouts.

"Her, actually. The manager said it was a her. And, and that's the thing, about killing. I don't know if they will or not." I say. "What would they want with her?"

"I don't know." He replies. He hugs his knees to his chest and sits there, looking miserable. "I- I don't know."

"Let's go back upstairs. We've got to get to Pirate's Cove anyway, for Foxy." I say. He nods and we head back up, pausing at the basement door to check for any cleaning staff.

We dash across the dining room, just in case any of the staff are still in the building. We are about to head into the cove when I see a man stick his hand out of the purple curtains.

I put my arm out to stop Tamarin. We watch as the man rummages around in a tool box before taking hold of a small metallic device and going back to work.

Backing up slowly, we turn the corner. A buzzing sound has begun emanating from the backstage room. "Someone must be cleaning back there..." whispers Tamarin.

I nod in agreement. Unable to go back to the basement, and with someone in the cove, we turn to the only place we can think of that will be empty and safe. Walking into the kitchen, we sit down behind a large cabinet, probably filled with cooking utensils.

After several minutes, the buzzing has subsided. Thinking it is safe to go back, we stand up. That's when another janitor turns the corner, heading for the kitchen. He is walking backwards, pulling a cart of cleaning supplies. I grab Tamarin and pull him into the nearest, and probably safest, hiding spot. It is the small side room in the kitchen, the one holding Olive and Spring.

I shut the door quietly and turn around to face two golden animatronics curiously looking up at us from where they're casually flopped on the ground, leaning up against opposing corners of the room.

"What are you doing here?" Asks Olive, confusion evident on her face. "Come away from the door. I don't bite... But I wouldn't trust Spring not to." She grins at this.

"Meh, my teeth are too round and dull to give a good bite. If they were, the Bite of '87 would have taken place a little earlier than that." Spring answers, laughing slightly, but it sounds forced. Like he's reliving a bad memory.

"Um, sorry." I say, slightly flustered from Spring's answer. "We were going to the cove, but there were janitors all over. We were kind of herded over here."

Olive shrugs. "Okay, I guess. There's nothing we can do to stop you anyway. I mean, unless we were to physically toss you out of the room."

They settle back into their positions, and we do the same. I can tell that this is headed to an awkward situation, so I decide to share our predicament, concerning the night guard, with them.

"There's a new night guard coming tonight. Or tomorrow morning, if you think about it that way." I tell them.

"And they'll probably try to kill her." Tamarin finishes absently, paying little attention to any of us. What's up with him?

"Hm," is the only reply we receive.

We settle into a silence as we wait out the cleaning crew. They must be making every bit of the restaurant spotless, because they don't leave for many hours.

 **~Time Skip Time, because I don't want to type~**

"They've got to be gone by now." I say.

Olive nods. "They usually leave by eleven, so they should be gone."

I stand up and place my hand on the door handle. Cautious turning the handle and opening the door, I stick my head out. Standing there is Freddy.

"What were you doing in there?" He asks suspiciously, although it sounds almost joking.

"The janitors were cleaning the kitchen, and we got stuck in here." I reply as calmly as I can when faced with one of my murderers.

"Well, no matter. We need to talk to you all about the new night guard. Come on, we're meeting in the dining room."

Together, the five of us walk to the dining room. Goldie, I believe his name was, is standing on the show stage. The other animatronics face him somewhat looking somewhat bored, as though they're just humoring him but still wanting to hear the information.

"Okay, so we've got to set some guidelines for the new guard." Goldie says. "Being his or her first night here, we can all spend a bit of time at the office, to see him or her. But try not to give the poor guard a heart attack. Some are more sensitive than others."

"Like Tamarin here." Foxy whispers loudly. Spring snickers at this, and Tamarin buries his head in his hands in shame.

I pat him on the back, but with no effect.

"So, he or she-"

"It's a she." I interrupt. "I heard the manager say she had ties to the restaurant, from a previous night guard or something. Her name was... Uh, Lori, I believe."

Tamarin jerks up and stares at me. "Did you say...? Lori?"

I nod and he practically collapses in his seat. "Oh no... I'm sure it's my Lori. She... She... I can't believe she took this job."

He is quiet for several moments. To realize that someone close to you might be forced to go through all the pain and suffering you felt... It must be horrible. I can only imagine if someone in my family took the job.

I want to say something comforting, but can't think of anything. Either way, I am cut off by a door opening on the far side of the restaurant.

"Places everyone." Freddy says. "The night shift has only just begun..."

I take a few steps toward the backstage and glance back, expecting Tamarin to be behind me. Instead, he still sits where he was at the small table.

"Tamarin?" I ask cautiously. "We need to go backstage now..."

"No." He replies flatly. "I want to see her. Even if she doesn't see me, I want to see her face again."

"Okay," I reply, "Go on then. You can hide in the west hall, below the camera so you aren't seen."

 **-Tamarin's POV-**

My lovely Lori is about to experience what I had gone through. The idea is heartbreaking. Even though Wyless, or Michael, warns me to be careful, I rush through the east hall and stand by the door. I am positioned just right so that even if she uses the door lights, and the cameras, she will not see me.

The phone rings, and she puts it on speaker.

"Uh... Hold on... Is this thing on...? Here we go... Uh, hello, hello!" I hear my voice say.

She gasps. "Is that... You? But... How... It's me! Lori!" She cries out.

"Uh, I wanted to record a message for you, help you get settled in on your first night." The recording continues.

I can see her face fall as she realizes it is simply the recording played to all new employees. She had actually believed it was me, and now all the pain she had felt is fresh and new.

"I actually worked in that office before you, I'm finishing up my last week now as a matter of fact. So, I know it can be a bit overwhelming, but I want you to know that there's no need to worry, you'll do fine. So let's just focus on getting through your first week, okay? First there's an introductory greeting from the company I'm supposed to read, it's kind of a legal thing, you know. So uh..."

She sits back in her chair, listening to the rest of the recording halfheartedly.

"Now concerning your safety..." I watch her face as she listens. Not surprisingly, she pales the farther into the recording she gets.

"That would cause a bit of discomfort... And death." She inhales sharply and scoots back in her chair. I myself sit against the wall. If I could comfort her, I would, but I know that she would become even more terrified seeing me in this state.

I put my head in my hands and prepare myself to wait out the night, by her.

 **-Spring's POV-**

I creep out of the kitchen room after Olive. We peek through the door in the west hall. The new guard has begun listening to the recordings, and she is hilarious!

I've always had a kind of soft spot for seeing pain and terror. It's quite exciting, in all honesty. Watching the new guard pale as she realizes what she got into is just priceless. It reminds me of the time I murdered those brats.

To be fair, she's much quieter. I had to get those kids into a back room, otherwise someone besides me would have heard the general death sounds murder victims tend to make. Come to think of it, this is more or less a back room.

I hear someone, probably Chica, coming down the hall. Being the kids they are, I had to expect them to get here while I was still looking through the door. Really, they're trying to annoy me. I mean, it was one thing to be killed in revenge. It's another thing entirely to be constantly harassed for no reason at all.

Or maybe I'm just overreacting to everything. Who knows? Apparently not me. But still, they just keep coming back. I murder them, and they possess suits. I dismantle them, and they kill me. They get repaired while I'm forced to sit, locked away for years, rotting.

Fun stuff, it really is.

I turn around and start heading for the kitchen, catching a glimpse of Tamarin on the way out. He looks depressed, and sits against the wall outside the door, just barely blocked from the guard's view. Jeez, some adults can be so... Sensitive.

Olive and I head back to the kitchen to sit where there aren't any working cameras. We don't want to give the guard too much of a scare now, it's only night one after all...

* * *

 **A/N:** Before someone complains about the summary not being very 'active' in the story, don't worry. It'll come in more later. This chapter is introducing another character and giving Tamarin more backstory. Now, responding to some reviews...

 **fnafspringtrap:** GO GO POWER FAZBEARS DO. DO DO DO

 **Olive:** Um... Okay... Yay?

 **Guest:** I love it! But the way things are going I feel like the murderer would be a better friend than the kids. Also during the questions I couldn't help but think of Spring asking one the children how it felt to be murdered and I couldn't stop laughing! Does that make me a bad person? PLEASE PUT MORE OUT SOON!

 **Spring:** You know what? That hilarious! Besides, you're not a bad person, if anyone is it'd be me.


	4. Chapter 4

This chapter is not meant to offend anyone who likes pastrami. Phone Guy's opinions are not supported by the author.

 **-Mike's POV-**

I jerk and nearly fall over. Bells like that of a clock tower play, ringing through the halls of the establishment. One by one, the other animatronics turn away from the office and head back to their stages.

So that's it then. Six AM, night one completed. There is the sound of a door opening, and I know Lori has left.

We had all been to the office to check up on Lori. Just like me, she did pretty well during her first night. Before things got tough. She closed the doors on us and checked the cameras. Not too bad, not too bad at all.

I move from my spot in the backstage to find Tamarin. No doubt, he's going to be depressed, but our first day of 'work' starts in a few hours and we need to be ready for it.

To my surprise, he is not in the west hall anymore. I am about to go off looking for him when I hear his voice from the office. Well, through the office. Looking through the door, I can just make out his form in the dark opposite hallway.

I am about to approach him when he shifts and I realize that he's talking to... Spring?

 **-Spring's POV-**

"You know, we should talk some. We never do anymore." I say to Tamarin.

"I don't want to associate myself with the likes of you." He replies in his best 'icy' tone. It's pathetic, really.

"You just say that because of that little 'incident.'" I reply.

"Little incident?! You're a psyco! You murdered children! You murdered Jack!"

"Oh, come on now. We used to be good friends. Is everything about your nephew, or your lady friend? You were a great coworker." I tell him.

"Great coworker?! I think not. You almost made me lose my job on several occasions. And good friends?! The most interaction I ever had with you was being in the same room during our break time, stuffing in ham sandwiches or whatever it was you always brought."

I sigh. "Pastrami..."

"You've got weird tastes. In fact, you're weird in general. Er, that's not really a good way to describe you is it? I'm so, so, sorry. I MEANT THAT YOU'RE AN INSANE MURDEROUS LUNATIC THAT-"

"Hey, Tam. Just shut up will you? Would you stop yelling at me for a few seconds?"

"NO, I-"

I shove him hard enough that he loses his balance and falls over. Even after a few months, he's not very good at moving. It's a thing that comes with time and practice, something I've had years of. Still, I take his hand and haul him up, to his protests of being patronized.

"Before either of us says something we're going to regret, I'm going to just put this out there- I'm not sorry for what I've done. But I am sorry for how I made you feel."

I pat him on the back, albeit a bit awkwardly. He just blinks at me, then turns on his heel and walks off.

"Ah, what?!" I call after him. "I actually tried to sound sincere and humane and you just WALK AWAY?!"

"Yeah." He calls back offhandedly. "It's not like you care, anyway." _Sincerely standing up for himself for once, and this is what he does._

"We've all lost someone. We've all had to go through _death_ to be here. I think at some point, anyone _would_ stop caring." I reply cooly.

He stops for a moment as if contemplating whether or not to respond. He doesn't turn and face me, however. He just starts off again. Which makes sense, I suppose. If I weren't me, I wouldn't face me. I've been described as insane, I've been called a monster. I guess I can be a bit intimidating...

But even for my past crimes, the words sting. Just like his actions. Just like the actions of those kids. Those brats, that won't forgive and forget my past actions. I've given them true, sincere apologies. But some things will never, ever change.

Even after they kill me and try to lock me away.

"Spring! Hey, hey, hey! Spring!" Olive shouts, skidding through the office and nearly hitting the wall. I glance back through the office doors and see Wyless, looking through. Of course he overheard. Like a stalker or something. I mean, he's a great guy, I'm sure. But still.

"Yeah?" I ask.

"You'll never believe what I overheard from the manager! He came in a few minutes ago and got on the phone in the office. Obviously not this office. But his office!"

"Ok, ok, ok. What's so important about this? And why are you so hyper?!"

"Because I've heard the most amazing news and-"

"Everything seems to sound amazing when you've been stuck in a pizzeria for years."

"Well, yeah, I suppose that's true."

"Yep. So, this news?"

"Just follow me, the manager's probably still on the phone. Business calls or whatever always take so long. You can hear it for yourself."

 **-Wyless' POV-**

"YOU'RE AN INSANE MURDEROUS LUNATIC THAT-" Tamarin is shouting from across the hall, and it echoes and amplifies throughout the pizzeria. No one comes running over though, so I have to wonder whether or not this kind of thing is normal. Then again, this is a place of death filled with creepy ghosts. And little kids. I can only presume this happens often.

After the voices across the hall calm down and quiet, I shift and am about to go off in search of Tamarin. Suddenly, Olive shouts and slides past me and through the office. I see a glint, and realize Spring has seen me.

I back off and away from the office, then realize there is someone standing right behind me. It's Tamarin.

"Uh, hey." I say, greeting him.

"Hey."

"Um, so, what're you doing here?"

"I was talking with Spring." He says.

"I, uh, I heard."

"Yeah, I know. I kinda... Lost my temper..." He says a bit uncomfortably.

"Well, I'm here for you if you need it. It's not like I can leave. Hehe." I say, a meager attempt at a joke to lighten the mood. "I, uh, I know what it's like."

He blinks before an expression of anger crosses his face. I stumble back into the wall as he appears to almost loom over me, although I know we are the same hight.

"You don't know what it's like! You were barely out of high school when you took this job! My life was going right for once, and I was happy! For the first time in ages! For the first time since I lost them! Since I lost HIM! But you don't have any life experience, because you're just another young adult working whatever job you can get to grab some cash on the side!"

"Er, I'm, uh, twenty-three..." I say meekly. "I graduated when I was eighteen-"

"Well fine. FINE! But may I ask what you did with your life after that? Nothing at all! Which is why you ended up working here, and look what that got you?! You were horribly, horribly murdered, just like I was!"

I slide down the wall and end up sitting on the floor, staring up at Tamarin. "Tamarin, calm down, I- I didn't mean to offend you..."

"No, and that's the thing. I'm going to go crazy before long! Just like Spring. And Olive. And maybe even those kids. And if Lori can't escape, she'll be joining this nut show as well! I was engaged to her, Michael! We were going to be married soon! And now she comes in every single night to watch over us, and she doesn't know it's me. As far as she knows, I'm DEAD! NO ONE KNOWS THAT WE'RE HERE!"

"Please, Tamarin..." I say quietly. "I'm sorry..."

"I wish I never took the job with this restaurant. This franchise took away my nephew. And it's going to take Lori. Or at the very least, my sanity! As much as I want to be with her again, I can't take her life away. And I can't just sneak into her office and say, 'Hey Lori! Nice to see you again! Yeah, it's me, your DEAD lover, THE ANIMATRONIC TIGER YOU THOUGHT WAS ABOUT TO KILL YOU! ARE YOU HAPPY TO SEE ME?'"

"You just need to talk to her... Maybe she'll understand..."

"I told you, I CAN'T! You just aren't able to imagine what it would be like for her to realize what happened to me... And... And..." He sighs, then resumes, quieter. As if he's defeated. "My nephew was lost to me thirteen years ago. I know what it feels like." His sudden burst of anger gone, he's back to the depressed, nervous man he was when I first met him. He slides down the other wall and makes a sniffly sound.

I slowly stand up and walk past him. He's left sitting in the hallway, staring at nothing.

 **-Olive's POV-**

I've grabbed Spring's hand and I'm practically dragging him though the pizzeria.

"Olive, quit it! I'm coming!" He says, trying to free himself from my grasp.

"Well, you're coming too slow! Hurry up!"

"Ack! Olive, careful!" He shouts as I turn a corner.

"What?!" I say. "It's not like the manager can hear your complaints!"

"Oh sure, and he didn't hear Tamarin shouting at me...?"

"He wasn't here yet. And his office is soundproof anyway."

"How do you know that?"

"Because of that time when Goldie and Mari tried to lock us in the office saying that we were crazy?"

"Oh yeah... Wait, how will we hear through the door then?"

"Dunno. I mean, I guess it doesn't block all sound. But he's on the phone with that headset thing of his, he can't really hear anything anyway. Here we are!" I say, my voice an excited whisper. We're standing right outside the manager's office, located by pirates cove.

I tip my head and listen closely. "He's still on the phone! Listen!"

He rolls his eyes, but presses his ear to the door. Well, what's left of his golden rabbit ear.

"It's been a good while, hasn't it?" Comes the manager's voice. "It's been, what, six years now since they were active last? Yeah, it'll be kind of nice to see them out and about again. But they're so decayed... We'll need to hire some sort of repair, and make another stage... I did always adore those golden ones though..."

I glance over at Spring. He looks back at me in disbelief. "We're bring repaired. We're going back onstage."

"Yeah... We are..."

"And to think he chose us, of all animatronics. How... Interesting. Come to think of it, I wonder who's going to repairing us. I mean, I can see my own guts falling out of my suit. Most people would be a little... Cautious... Around that kind of thing." Spring says, bluntly.

"I suppose it takes more to bribe a professional into secrecy than the average man. But would the cheapskate of a manager even hire someone who knows what they're doing?" I say.

"Secrecy? What is this, a spy movie? But he'd better hire someone who knows what they're doing. Maybe he would hire someone who dealt with this kind of thing before. And while I agree he's a cheapskate, he is going through all the trouble to repair us."

"Like who?" I inquire.

"Well, there is this one man..."

 **-Foxy's POV-**

I look around the newly repaired Pirate's Cove. It's in all of it's former glory, along with myself. I no longer have any gaping holes or exposed endoskeleton, and my jaw isn't crooked at all. It feels fantastic to be back together like this.

I just wish Tamarin would notice.

'But he rejected you...' I think to myself.

But Wyless hasn't. Except I killed him. I wouldn't blame him if he hated me.

I sigh and fiddle with the star covered curtains, adjusting them slightly. Then I turn around and scoot the plastic-looking treasure chest out a bit. I've always loved playing with the children like they were my real friends, and I want everything to be perfect.

Just perfect.

"Err... Foxy?"

"Huh?" I whip around and see Wyless has come up behind me.

"Listen eh, kid, I need some help. I don't know what to do, or how to perform. I'm not used to being... This... Thing..." He gestures to himself helplessly, looking a little shaken. I had heard all the shouting earlier, I'm guessing he was somehow involved in all of it.

"Well, it's not as hard as you might think. If you watch yourself as you move, you'll see you look really... Robotic... Anyway." I try not to offend him, but I don't know what else to say.

"How come you don't?" He asks.

"I've been this way a long time. It's just sort of natural now..."

"There's nothing 'natural' about this, kid. Nothing at all. We shouldn't be here." He says.

"Well, uh, we didn't really have a choice." I say uncomfortably, glancing down at the stage floor.

"Mari was only trying to help us..." I continue, a bit sadly. "He gave us gifts. He gave us a new life..."

Saying this brings back memories. "Mari was there, when we first woke up. He wasn't trying to frighten us... But I was just so scared..." I feel like I want to go sit down in some dark corner of this horrible place and just cry.

"Marionette... Really?" He asks. He's surprised, but I'm not sure if it's because of my attitude or this information.

"Yes... But sometimes I wish he had never done anything. I- I- I just want to go home!" I choke it out, falling to the floor of the stage and pulling my knees to my chest. It's true. I do want to go home. I don't hate Mari for what he did... But that doesn't mean I'm always happy about it. Not that I would be alive and at home anyway. I can't blame him.

I make a sniffly, whimper like sound. The equivalent of an animatronic's tears. Because I can't cry. I can't be human.

"I- I- I'm sorry for what I did to you! I'm so sorry! I took everything from you... It was my fault! And you hate me too, I know it!" I say, voice quavering.

"Shhh..." Wyless says, reassuringly. He falls to his knees and puts an arm around my shoulders. "It's ok Foxy. It'll be alright. We all do things we regret... And I don't hate you for it."

I turn to him and bury my head against his chest, sobs escaping my computer voice box. All of these built up emotions... I had tried to keep separate from my friends after the day we woke up. I had tried to keep all of my bad emotions locked away. We all did, I think. But it feels good to let everything out. My eyes are dry and I shed no tears, just like its always been since that terrible day. The day almost everything was taken from my friends and me, and we only had each other.

Wyless just hugs me tighter and sighs. "I'm sorry too, Foxy. I never wanted you to feel horrible..." He pats my back gently as I cry. "Shhh... Calm down..."

I feel as though I'm being patronized. Or at the least, treated like a toddler. But you know what? All that am is a scared little child trapped in a nightmare. The nightmare that is Freddy Fazbear's Pizza.

He holds me close, and I feel his suit's soft fur against me. "Don't worry kid. Someday we'll all be free. I know we will..."

He reminds me of my uncle. Back when we all happy. Back when we were alive.

Things change.

* * *

 **A/N: Well then. I'm back... After several months. This chapter is a bit... Odd. Let me tell you, I'd been writing a little bit every now and then, but I woke up today and redid it all from scratch. Yeah. Ah well, let's answer some reviews! (The next chapter will be less... depressing. Don't worry.)**

 **Meriatressia:** Interesting and good. Springtrap is by far the best character. He's awesome. The children are vile obnoxious brats. Mike should be friends with Springtrap and Olive and kick the brats ass'. Sad about Tamarin and Lori. He should be able to be with her again.

 **Spring:** Finally, someone understands my torture!

 **Tamarin:** :(

 **A Sleepwalking Demigod:** T'was a sad, sad day for Lori, the new night guard.

 **Lori:** *Sigh*

 **Guest:** When learning how the Phone Guy's girlfriend is taking the job at Freddy's made me feel so bad for Phone Guy! If she died like he did, he would probably be sad because she's dead but happy beacuse he can be with her. Will she die?! Oh, the cliff hangers!

 **Tamarin:** I can't do that to her! She'd hate me forever!

 **Guest:** Spring x Olive. It's just too perfect not to happen. And great story it was awesome I can't wait for more.

 **Author:** Yeah... no. There is/will be no "Spring x Olive" because of age difference, plot, backstory, and backlash. Calm down shippers. :)


	5. Chapter 5

**-Lori's POV-**

I glance around the office, tears in my eyes. I can hear quiet footsteps that echo throughout the halls, and I whimper slightly. Why, WHY, did I take this job?! There were plenty of other places I could have found work. I had somehow gotten it into my mind that I would find what happened to him here. I think I can guess now.

He never spoke to me about his job, but I wish he had. I could have helped him, somehow. And now I could use his help.

Except he's gone. Forever.

A raspy moan sounds in my ear, and I whirl around. Looming above me is Chica the Chicken, wearing an angry expression that is more than just nightmare fuel. I feel its strong hand grab my wrist, and I feebly try to pull away and run. The phone begins to ring, but I have no time to answer it. Not that it would help me anyway. Not when I've already been caught.

"LET ME GO, YOU MONSTER!" I scream, seeing no reaction from the soulless eyes. Tears run down my face, and I hear a voice. It says...

"Don't worry. You'll do fine."

Except I won't. I glance back and see something watching me. An orange tiger, sadness prevalent. The other animatronics surround me, murderous intentions apparent. I hear their screeches in my ears, the phone rings again and-

I sit up in bed. It was just a nightmare. Well, that's just great. I've spent all of six hours working at the pizzeria and I'm already haunted by it. Still, I hear the phone's ringing echoing in my ears.

Oh, wait. It's my house phone. I groggily jump out of bed and rush over to answer it, glancing at my clock in the process. It's only eight am, I'd been asleep for less than an hour. I pick up the phone and lean against the wall, still half asleep.

"Hello, uh, Lori?" A man asks from the other end of the line.

"Yes, that'd be me." I say.

"Uh, this is your manager. From the pizzeria. Is this a bad time? I know you just got home, but-"

"Yes, this is a fine time. It's- it's great." I tell him.

"Well, alright. Though you do sound a bit tired, I'm going to guess you're half asleep?"

"No, no, I'm okay." I say quickly, straightening up a bit, trying to wipe the exhaustion from my voice.

"Right... Well, sorry to bother you, but I needed to see if you would come in early tonight? I know this job can be awfully draining, so to speak, but-"

"Ah, come in early? And the animatronics...?" I inquire.

"Well you see, we've got a guy coming in to do some general repair on the suits, we'll be closing early today, so the animatronics will be active, yes. But-"

"What?!"

"Let me finish. Yes, they'll be active. But the always are, even now. They're only put onto the stages for the day."

"But don't they try to stuff-"

"No, no. You see, their AI switches modes automatically. Unfortunately, we have no way to change this, because the language it was written in is rarely used. Basically what happens is they have a day mode, where they can be set to move slightly or stand still, and their night mode, where they can roam freely. They're no threat during the day, so if you wouldn't mind coming in at around ten-thirty, you'll basically be sitting around for an hour and a half, at which point they'll start moving more frequently."

"Uh... Right..." I say, a bit confused by his explanation. What did he mean by languages? I'm not a techie, that's for sure. "Sure, I can come early, I guess. I mean, I will get overtime?" Not that I want to be there at all, but I'm stuck because of a contract.

"Of course. And thanks for doing this, I know the job as night guard is stressful enough as it is. The previous guy, someone named Mike, was at the job for over a month. Is was a bit surprising when he... Moved away... on such short notice too, you know? Anyway, I'll be there waiting for you, and so should the repairman. He should be done before your normal hours start, so if you could just lock up and get back to your office before then, it'd be great." He replies. "Oh, sorry, I've got another call. So, come on in at ten-thirty for your shift tonight. Thanks, and goodbye."

"Bye Sir." I reply. There is a click at the other end and I slowly reach up and hand the phone back on its hook. Then I trudge over to my bed and collapse back onto it. If I'm lucky, I'll be able to get some undisturbed sleep before facing work tonight.

 **-Spring's POV-**

"Who is it that you think's going to repair us?" Olive asks me. We're sitting back in the kitchen, because it's currently the only place that isn't overrun with other animatronics. This place is too small for so many of us, it really is.

"It's an old acquaintance of mine. He did some of the general maintenance on the suits for the company. I'm pretty sure he still does it, but he hasn't come in a while. I mean, the company hasn't exactly kept the suits in top notch condition. I understand if they don't care for those in storage, but they really should take better care of the main group."

"And to think- we're going to be apart of that main group!" She exclaims. "I'm a little nervous but mostly I'm excited! I've never performed in front of other people like this though, but I think I'll be good at it. I just hope I don't make any mistakes."

"Nah, you'll be okay." I tell her, albeit not in a particularly reassuring way.

"Yeah, I know. Even so, it's going to be weird when so many people treat you like you aren't a person, like you can't think."

"M'hm." I agree. "It'd be interesting if the manager were to know, or a guard or something like that. I wonder if we'd be treated differently."

"I would hope so!" She exclaims. "Still, we can't. If anyone were to know- oh, wait!" She says, standing up suddenly. "We need to go to the basement before all of the employees arrive!"

"Uh, why?" I ask, confused.

"Because, Goldie is down there." She replies, suddenly calm.

"But what- oh. Right." Our suits were a trio. We would be in this together.

"Yep."

 **-Goldie's POV-**

I'm leaned against a box, down in the basement. Marionette is pacing, walking back and forth across the floor.

"You're going to wear a groove in the floor at this rate with your stubby legs." I tell him. "What's on your mind?"

"Just... A lot of things. Like how the past night guards are acting. And the manager- he's been coming into his office and getting calls all the time for the past week or so." He responds.

"Well-" I start, but am interrupted by a thumping as someone comes down the stairs. It's Tamarin, and he flops down against the wall.

"Hello there!" Pipes up Mari. Tamarin just slides down further.

"He's way too depressing. We've got to do something about this." Mari whispers to me.

"Good idea." I reply. "Hey, Tamarin! We've got something extremely important to tell you!"

"Uh, that's not exactly what I meant-" Mari begins.

"Just roll with it." I whisper to him.

"...What...?" Tamarin mumbles.

"Well, we need to address your attitude." I say.

"You see..." Mari agrees. "With all due respect, sir, you're such a... um..."

"You're such a wet blanket." I finish for him. "I get that you're not in the best of moods, but you suck the fun out of EVERYTHING!"

"I'm... A wet blanket? Wow. I feel so much better. Thanks for solving all my life problems."

"Look, I get that listing your problems doesn't make it go away but make an effort! You were better, quite honestly, when all you did was sit in the corner and mumble about how we ruined your life."

"You did ruin my life! I'm dead!" He practically growls, standing up slowly.

"Well, so are we!" I retort. "You felt no pain when you died, since you had fainted. For us, it was slow and horrible!"

"I... I..." Tamarin begins.

Then there is a crash as the basement door is slammed open, and thumping as an animatronic bangs down the steps.

"Hey guys!" Olive calls excitedly, seeming to jump the last few steps as she lands heavily. "How you doing?"

"Tamarin's trying to guilt trip us." I say accusingly. I don't think she particularly cares, but she might be able to talk some sort of sense into him. "And we were just trying to help him address his issues."

"His issues." She replies, glancing back up the stairs.

"Yeah, you know, being... How he is." I tell her as I see Spring attempt to quietly descend the steps. I'm not sure whether he's trying not to be noticed or if he wants to act 'refined'. Whichever it is, it's not working, at all.

"You're still trying to council him? I would think that after however many months, you've just got to realize that some people can't be fixed." She says.

"Hey, I'm just fine!" Tamarin protests. "It's not that I'm going crazy or something. But I am homesick, and I'm worried for my family, the mental state of my nephew, and the seemingly short life span of my love interest-"

"Would you calm down about that?! What're we gonna do, stuff her in a suit?!" I ask, overwhelmed by his sudden outburst.

"Yes! That's exactly what you're going to do!" He says with emphasis.

"That's enough." Mari says, stepping into our small dispute. "You sit down," he commands, pushing Tamarin into a sitting position. "And you sit down." He shoves me against a wall and I slide down it.

"Sir," he begins, addressing Tamarin. "You just need to... Stop!"

"Uh... This is getting really tense, so I'm just going to... Go..." Olive says quickly.

"Oh yeah, and Goldie, you're going be repaired, probably by some creepy dude that Spring knows and then you're going to be performing with us!" And with that she dashes up the stairs. Spring gives us an odd look before heading back up with her.

After a few moments, I begin to understand.

"I'm... Performing. I'll be repaired."

Tamarin flops over again, covering his head with his animatronic suit paws.

Pathetic, anyone?

 **-Chica's POV-**

I'm sitting on the floor of the night guards' office, scribbling on a scrap of paper. Freddy and Bonnie are going through the things on the desk.

"What're you up to?" Freddy asks me.

"I'm trying to draw a picture for Wyless. You know, to help him settle in." I answer.

"I'm surprised at how well he's taken everything. He's so... calm."

"Yeah, compared to basically everyone else." Bonnie snickers some as he says this.

"Oh yeah, like Spring." I say, thinking back to when he had first woken up. At first he had been screaming and throwing curses at us, but eventually he had just curled up into a ball and sniffled. "But at least he got over everything."

"Mhm." Freddy agrees. "Hey, look at this!"

"What is it? I'm on the floor, I can't see what you've got." I say, glancing up at the two.

Freddy responds by turning around and dropping an empty satchel on my head.

"It's... A satchel." I observe, shaking it off. "I don't like it. It's not cool enough."

"No, not that. But there was some stuff in it, from the other night guards or something I guess. See, there's this deck of cards." He picked the deck off the table and handed it down to me. "We can play Go Fish. I mean, we can play something else too but I don't really know anything else."

"That's kind of cool." I smile. "Anything else?" It's always neat to find these things the night guards have left behind. We all had small things, like yo-yos and puzzles, that the night guards had brought, mostly for their early nights. Spring and Olive had managed to commandeer a card deck set for themselves, and it makes me wonder who brought that in.

"Hey, look at this!" Bonnie exclaims, pulling out several pieces of paper bound by a rubber band. "It's knowledge! We shalt all be geniuses!"

"Uh, what?" I ask, sitting up. "Reading some old newspapers or something isn't going to-" I'm cut off as he gives a small yelp and drops the papers, which scatter on the floor.

"What'd you do that for?" I inquire, moving to pick them up.

"Look at them!" He replies. Dubiously, I do.

"What...?" I whisper, looking though them. "These... These are from years ago..."

I begin to read the article with the earliest date. "Two local children were reportedly lured into a back room during the late hours of operation at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza on the night of June 26th..."

"It was you and me... And then the others came looking for us. During Foxy's birthday party..." Bonnie says. "Uh, keep reading."

"While video surveillance identified the man responsible and led to his capture the following morning, the children themselves were never found and are presumed dead. Police think that the suspect dressed as a company mascot to earn the children's trust."

"Wait, what?!" Freddy kneels down beside me. "But that makes no sense. Spring was never convicted for his crimes. We were the ones that came after him."

"Yet look here." I say, "While the suspect has been charged, the bodies themselves were never found."

"That's not right though. I don't understand it." Freddy protests. "And look at this- we were compared to... Reanimated carcasses. And it says the police were contacted... This was all at the old establishments, though. Look at the date."

"And here... There's an article about all of the financial problems from the business." Bonnie contributes.

"I don't quite understand that either." I say. "We're all badly maintained, the restaurant is a mess, yet we still get new animatronics."

"No, that makes sense." Freddy tells us. "New animatronics bring in more businesses, getting more money, meaning everything is in better condition. Old tales are forgotten, possible lawsuits dropped, and then the company becomes more popular."

That's when I pick up one last article- relating to the bite of '87. I remember it so clearly... What jerks we were. I sigh sadly.

"Chica?" Freddy asks me. "What is it?"

"I... I feel bad... About what we've done. To the night guards. To Wyless, especially."

"Should we talk to him?" Bonnie questions.

I glance up at the clock, mounted on the back wall of the office. "We'll have to wait until after closing time, but before midnight. I don't want to scare the guard, and we're opening soon."

Freddy nods, and helps me stand up. Together we walk back to the show stage. Tamarin trudges up the basement steps and over to the cove, where Wyless and Foxy emerge from the curtains.

Then, the manager emerges from his office and smiles at all of us. "Ready to start the day?" He laughs.

No. We're never ready. We'll never be ready.

* * *

 **A/N:** See, I'm still alive! I can still write! Anyway, with the release of the fourth game, I've got some new inspiration! Yay! I'll try and finish this as coherently as possible, although it's one in the morning and I want to try and get a few hours sleep before I have to head out tomorrow morning.

 **Meriatressia:** Cool. Springtrap and Olive performing! Yay! The best characters on stage!

 **Olive:** Yaaaaaaaaaay!

 **Spring:** Oh boy, I'm _soooo_ excited. My words are practically _dripping_ with _joy._

 **Thunderbird 22:** Wait, is Foxy Jack and is Jack Tamarin's nephew he was talking about?

 **Author:** Read carefully, then just wait and see. I've put together a backstory, it shalt reveal itself the more you read.

 **LordTeridax2176:** Springtrap is #1 and I'm glad BB is not in this.

 **Spring:** Hey, thanks.

 **fnafspringtrap:** Hehe W

 **Spring:** Hehe ^^

 **venomousbook38:** This story sound really awesome so far I like it so I'd love to see more or BonBon will get mad.

 **Author:** Is that a threat?!

 **Derpington:** Oh, by the way Lori don't die!

 **Lori:** I'll try not to.


	6. Chapter 6

- **Mike's POV** -

I'm about to my first "shift" as a "performer" at Freddy's. I'm so " _enthusiastic_." Well... I am a bit. I need to make the best of this situation after all. I'm probably going to be stuck here for a while...

I shake my head, not wanting to think about it.

The day staff filed in at roughly the same time, which is understandable since their shifts probably did start all at once. The curtains to Pirate's Cove were slightly opened, and I peered out from between them, watching the staff bustle around. It wasn't anything particularly interesting, mostly just college students rushing around, wiping off tables and setting out party hats.

Funny, how if I had taken the day shift, I'd be doing the same thing. Not standing over here, you know, all dead-like. They were all oblivious to what went on during the night shift, and seemed happy being so. The night shift had sounded easy enough though, and they had needed someone for it.

I turned around to face the other two animatronics that completed the pirate act. An air of... Well, not quite melancholy, more like _awkwardness_ hung over them.

"Are you all right?" I asked to neither in particular. "Fine." Foxy stated simply.

"I'm good." Tamarin commented, a slight smile, if not a patronizing one, on his face.

"Okay..." I replied. This was something of a stilted conversation, to say the least. Well, no, it wasn't exactly stilted, just uncomfortable all around.

Foxy stepped over to the curtain break and peered out around the room. I looked over his shoulder and made eye contact with Freddy over at the stage area. If I was honest, in the light of day, they weren't so creepy. I... I could see why they were adored by children. Even if they were low-budget, not too well kept... They weren't that bad.

The slight yellow sheen to the light reflected off the small stars hanging from the stage, shining slightly. The party hats were set up and ready for the children, and I could hear pots and pans bustling in the kitchen. This in particular seemed to prove that the pizzeria didn't just reheat frozen pizzas, despite what some people said. Even if I wanted to spew horrible things about this place, and what it's done to me, it did have a kind of charm in the daylight. Well, lightbulbs, not true daylight, but it was the same general idea, the same feel.

Foxy backed away from the curtain and bumped into me. I mumbled an apology and stepped out of his way.

"No, no. It's fine!" He whispered, flashing a grin, which was whole and sincere. It was interesting, seeing emotion in the animatronics- it was subtle, just the way the jaw was set or the tilt of the eyelids. But sometimes subtly says a lot, even if I tend to miss it.

Or maybe I'm just imaging it. Maybe I just _feel_ the emotion. I don't really know.

The smell of pizza- the greasy kind you find in city restaurants, instead of the unfrozen kind that was covered in far too much sauce penetrated the pizzeria. I guess I had known subconsciously that I could feel and smell, but it was still strange- almost numbed, but still real, in a sense. It was difficult to describe, really.

Although I was surprised I could smell, I couldn't help but think of what a shame it was that I couldn't actually eat. This place wasn't known just for its animatronics, after all. Despite being such a small fact, it was a bit disheartening. If the children- who I had gathered had been dead for years- suddenly woke up in living, human bodies, would they be confused? Would they have forgotten what it's like to eat, to sleep, to breathe? How long would it take for me to do the same?

At that point, it seemed that things were ready to move into full gear. I felt a shudder move through me as I literally lost control of my my actions. Letting out a dying gasp, I felt my body jerk and stiffen, and I heard Tamarin doing the same from behind, moving to stand beside me. What...? Why couldn't I move? Why couldn't I speak?!

"Oh- I- Sorry, I didn't mention..." Foxy trails off as he looks at us. I feel like I did when I first woke up, I feel weak and helpless. What's going on?!

"It's the animatronic." Foxy says. I don't understand. I'm the animatronic, right? Why would it, well, I, be doing this?

I see Foxy shiver for a moment before returning to his normal state. It happened to him too- why didn't it affect him like it affects us?

"Alright," he begins in a hushed tone so that the staff members outside the curtains won't hear us. "So, I get this is kind of hard to understand, but basically the animatronic you posses, it knows what it has to do. You have to overpower it if you want to move."

Did the animatronics have a mind of their own then? I choose to concentrate on speaking, and by force, I almost choke a few words out. Almost.

But of course, by that time, the doors were already opening and impatient children were running in, only to be grabbed by a parent. Cheery, band music had started playing, and Foxy strolled to the curtains, opening them in a flourish.

"Hey Kids!" Freddy shouted from the stage, his voice oddly robotic, "Are you ready for songs..."

"Music..." Bonnie piped in, Chica following up with, "Pizza..."

"And adventure, with me crew?!" Foxy completed in a thick pirate accent, as Tamarin and I jerked and waved, smiles plastered onto our faces.

~#*#~

The restaurant, apparently, closed at six. Not that I had a problem with it, as I still wasn't able to move on my own. As a result, the moments between closing and whatever time the animatronic AI shut off seemed to be painstakingly slow and drawn out. It helped, however, being in pirate's cove since the curtains could be shut. The main three, out on the stage, would have to stand there until the staff left and they could walk around.

It was amazing, really, that they could stand to be there, no pun intended. Dead or not, the mind could only stay idle for so long and they must have been bored. They were children, after all. They were just kids.

"I... G- got this. I can t- talk." I felt like I was forcing the words out if my animatronic mouth. Even so, I was proud of the fact that I had been able to talk like a five year old when in this state. Tamarin had more ease than I did, and sat to my left with a hand on my shoulder. Here I was, barely able to spew a few words from my mouth, and Tamarin was already able to move his arms somewhat, even if he did have difficulty speaking. Of course, Foxy had taken it upon himself to drag us back from the curtain, so I was slumped against the wall of the cove.

Gradually, sounds were fading out. There were no longer the clattering of pots and pans from the kitchen, and only a few people seemed to still be bustling around in the dining area, wiping off tables and such.

I thought back to the mood this morning. I really wanted to know what happened between Foxy and Tamarin. I didn't know what went on between them, but they obviously weren't on the best terms with each other. Maybe they knew each other before... Well, before they died.

Come to think of it, everyone seemed to be on poor terms recently. Was it... Was it because of me?

I weakly slumped down onto the floor as the tension released from my stance. I sighed, not even moving to speak, choosing to just sit in relief for a moment. It felt good, great even, to have control over myself again. Leaning back up against the wall again I looked up at Foxy, who was hovering over me like a concerned kid does over a fallen comrade.

"Wow." I said jokingly. "Some long day, huh?" I smiled, glad to have control again.

"I haven't performed in months! It was... Amazing!" Foxy said, laughing quietly, as he grabbed my wrist and hauled me up from my somewhat awkward sitting position. Tamarin stood up on his own, stretching his arms and brushing his hand along the ceiling.

He frowned and let his arm fall back to his side. 'Right,' I thought to myself. 'I guess we are a bit taller now.'

It was true, I was a few inches taller as an animatronic- I had been closer to hitting the frame when going through doors, but I hadn't thought too much about it. Actually... That would mean I was a lot taller.

I chuckled slightly, and then stopped in surprise that I could actually hear myself. The pizzeria was truly quiet. Did... Did all the staff clear out already?

I tugged the curtain open slightly, and to my surprise the pizzeria really was abandoned. Floors were swept, tables cleared of paper plates... It was silent. Did this mean we could come out now?

Bonnie answered my unvoiced question by stepping off the show stage, followed by Chica and Freddy. Pushing apart the star patterned curtains, I carefully stepped down, Tamarin and Foxy right behind me.

I couldn't tell what time it was without a clock, and was never good at guessing games, but fortunately one sat mounted on the wall of the dining area. It read '9:37.' The time was fairly late, so I supposed I couldn't be too terribly surprised that the staff had already cleared out. It was a Monday, after all, so business would be slow, and there'd be less work to do. There had still been plenty of children throughout the day, however, so I couldn't be sure what a crowded day would be like.

Even so... Seeing the place peaceful and calm... It was nice. It really was.

"How'd you like your first day on the job?" Bonnie squeaks out, dashing over to me and tugging on my arm.

"I... I don't know..." That was all the honest answer I could give. "How have you done it?"

He shrugs uncomfortably. I mean... Okay then. But before I can get too philosophical about anything, I'm practically jump-scared by a familiar golden animatronic.

"Hey Wyless!" Olive grins, obviously glad to be released from the kitchen. It wasn't like she could do anything all day, and come to think of it, she probably had to be quiet so the staff didn't hear her as well. I briefly wondered why Spring and her didn't move down to the basement for the day, but it came to me that they were expected to be in there. It'd be strange to find that they suddenly moved. Not to mention Spring obviously had something in particular against certain animatronics.

"You seem happy." ' _As per usual'_ I observed.

"Yeah, well, I'm in a pretty good mood right now."

' _I wonder if it's contagious. Some... Animatronics... Aren't in a very good mood_.'

It seemed that it was a usual thing for everyone to sort of congregate together after closing time. What is it for, to catch up on how things were that day? ' _Yeah, today was great, did you see that kid-' 'Yeah, I did. I was right beside you_.'

Everyone seemed to be more relaxed today, or at least I hoped so. Despite all the tensions that existed...

Goldie and his companion Puppet came put of the backstage storage. A "Hey guys!" came from Goldie.

I glanced around the room. Everyone from our little animatronic group was out here- even Spring was here. He wasn't yelling at anyone or anything- he just sat at one of the tables quietly, observing us. It was a little unsettling, actually.

Despite the fact that I had common sense and used it often, I walked over to Spring. His steely-grey eyes locked onto my own blue, robotic ones eyes and he watched me step near before turning away. I could guess it was his way of saying 'get away from me' without straight up shouting it in my face.

Still, I went right up to him. For once, he was in a civil mood, it seemed. And it wasn't the same as when we were doing the questioning game, where he was quietly angering the children. He seems oddly out of it right now. I... I think I wanted to get some answers from him. I don't really know, but it seemed best to talk to him when he was in a quieter, calmer mood.

The tips of my hand's fabricated fingers brushed against his arm, at the joint in his suit where his upper arm meets the shoulder. He might try to block me out, but-

He immediately stiffens at my touch and smacks my hand off, whirling around to face me. What?! Why?! It was just a light brush of my fingers to get his attention, nothing more-

"What?!" Any excuse in my mind evaporates at his voice. He doesn't sound angry, it's more like he's highly annoyed with my presence. Like he'd seriously consider murdering me if I were alive and doing this.

No. That's not- could it? Nah... He's just surprised that I approached him like that, that's all.

He glares up at me before standing suddenly, making me jump back. He immediately stalks off, back to the kitchen. I just touched his arm... He didn't have to jump up and go off like that.

"What'd you do to Spring?" A voice asks me, and I jump, snapping around to look at who it was. 'Oh. It's Tamarin.' I stare up at him. He's almost like Spring, in a way- I've interacted with him, somewhat, but I know next to nothing about him, or at least who he was. I don't even know his real name.

"I touched his shoulder, and he walked out." I reply, confused. Why would he care, anyway.

"I wouldn't think he'd be touchy feely anyway," he responds.

Okay, where's he going with this? "What do you mean?" I ask him.

He blinks at me. "Oh, I, uh, didn't know that you hadn't been told..." he rambles somewhat. Seeing the confused expression on my face, he stops for a moment to compose himself before continuing."You see, Spring wasn't stuffed into a suit."

Huh? I would have thought he was- I guess I'd been assuming he was caught like we were, that he was a night guard, or possibly even just an unlucky employee that was caught at the place a little too late. But if he wasn't stuffed then what-

"I don't know why he stayed late that night," Tamarin says slowly, reminiscing, perhaps. "I'd just assumed that he was finishing up something or another, so I just walked out, knowing he had a key and would lock up when he was done with whatever it was he had to do. But the animatronics... They must've hunted him down."

He sighed. "He destroyed the animatronics. Broke them to pieces, endoskeletons and everything..."

He... Destroyed them?! To nothing more than pieces?! Even as an animatronic, I couldn't do that!

"I don't know exactly what happened after that, but he was... Cornered, or something. In this safe-room of sorts, where we had an old game machine, some promotional stuff, and the old suits. The Fazbear franchise used have quite the following- there was a show, the restaurants, toys..."

I nodded at this. When I was younger, I had remembered seeing the show on TV, in the eighties. I had never watched it though, it seemed more like a kid's thing. "This was the time that the place was being reopened," he continued. "The golden suits were closed down and the earlier versions of these guys on stage. The place was a reck, it really was- leaks in the ceiling, the windows still boarded up. He must have hidden from whoever was coming after him in the suit. And then the suit broke."

"What... What do you mean? How could he have hidden in a suit?"

"The spring-lock suits, A.K.A the golden animatronics... Their endoskeletons can be 'unlocked,' to allow people to wear them as a costume. You use a crank do it. But if the spring-locks break... The endoskeleton snaps back into place and skewers the poor soul wearing it... Resulting in a what can be a long, painful death from blood loss, asphyxiation... You get the picture."

"How do you know all this?" The children continue to play in the background, but it's just that- a background. I'm focused wholly on Tamarin's words.

"As much as I would hate to admit it, I worked alongside him. We were actually pretty close friends. The two of us knew the suits forwards, backwards, and so on. He stayed late one night, and I came in early the next morning. I found his mutilated corpse."

"Do you know... Did, did someone break in that night to kill him?"

He just shakes his head. "You see, that's the thing- as far as we could tell, he was the only living soul there that night. There was no way someone could have gotten in."

"The only... _Living_ Soul?"

"I think- I think it was the children that hunted him down, you see."

"But why?"

He sharply looks away. "You'll have to ask him yourself. It's... It's not in my place to say anything."

He steps back as I turn towards the kitchen door. As per usual, curiosity fills me. But as they say, curiosity kills the cat.

But I'm not a cat. I'm a wolf, an animatronic one to be exact.

Tamarin knows that I'm going to talk to Spring. "Michael, wait-" he says, weakly. I ignore him and start walking towards the kitchen. Thinking about it... If he's literally destroyed animatronics when he was alive, maybe it isn't the best idea to go 'interrogate' him. Especially about something like this... Something that could be considered an extremely sensitive topic.

I shake my head, feeling the stares of the animatronics bore into my back as I enter the kitchen. I'm going to talk to Spring, and if he does try something, then maybe someone will be able to drag anything that's left of me out.

I push open the door leading to the darkened storage room. Light from the kitchen area brightens the otherwise dark room, and reveals Spring, sitting alone, staring blankly at the opposite wall, either completely lost in thought or not thinking at all.

"Spring?"

His gaze snaps upwards and focuses on myself, standing at the door. "What?!" He practically hisses at me.

"I- I wanted to ask you about something." My voice wavers, and I frown inside. I'm so scared of him, but there isn't any real reason, is there? The children obviously bother him a lot, but they're still in one piece. _This time, at least._ Maybe... Maybe I'm just overreacting.

"Ask away." He says, sarcastically, standing up and crossing his arms.

"I want to know why everyone hates you. Why you were hunted down. Who are you?"

He looks at me, thoughtfully. Calculatingly. "Come here." He says after a moment, his voice devoid of emotion. The look that he gives me, however, seems to imply something more along the lines of 'come here if you have a death wish.'

But that's the thing. I'm already dead. So, cautiously, I take a few steps inside. I'm about to speak again when he raises a hand, imposingly.

I gasp sharply as he practically jumps forward and slams me against the wall. My fearful gaze meets his frozen and cold one, and I wince in actual pain as he jerks my wrist upward. It's like what you'd feel in a dream- detached and numbed, but still there and still real enough.

"Didn't know you could still feel pain, did you, hmm?" He asks, unsettlingly calm and composed. It's like he's smirking internally.

"N-no... I didn't..." I reply quietly, fearful. I expected him to yell at me, I expected him to be angry. Not this.

"It's alright, there's a first time to experience everything, a first time to learn." He stares at me, but his gaze remains frozen and unrevealing. What's wrong with him?!

"W-Why are you this way?" I ask again, my voice tripping. I'm obviously already on his 'death' list, and even if he can't kill me the looming possibility of him breaking my suit remains. But in that case, I might as well get my answer so I can 'die' peacefully.

"I'm this way because of those children. They took everything from me. Everything. I could hear Tam explaining my death to you, even from in here. Do you know what those children used to call me by?! I used to be called things like _Hybrid_ and _Springtrap_ and _Salvage_. Like I was just a broken toy they had fun messing with, loosening the _Springs_ as they went."

He glares down at me, gaze no longer cold but burning, fiery hot. Not that I'm relieved that he's at least showing emotion, as so far he's seemed to have proven he only has three emotions- annoyance, anger, and intense boredom.

"They're bullies. Monsters," he continues, "They say sorry, and they think they've fooled us, or maybe they're just fooling themselves, but _they don't fool me_. They received every bit of torture they deserved, yet they took it upon themselves to get ' _revenge_ ' for the ' _horrors_ ' I induced on them when I did their families a service by disposing of them."

He gives a harsh laugh. "I will admit, it was a mistake of my own with that puppet one. He was the one that brought them back to 'life,' you see. It wasn't in my exact intentions to kill him, really, but, you know, oh well."

He twists my wrist more, and I grimace, unable to stop and comprehend what he's saying. Did he just admit to killing-

"But they're really here because I brought them here, in what could be considered a painful and inhumane way. You're a smart guy, Wyless, despite seemingly lacking some basic form of common sense. Come on now, put it together." His voice dies out after the last word, and finally I can try and clear my mind to think.

He brought them here... Painfully... He made sure they were tortured.

Is he... Did he... No. He couldn't have. But Tamarin's words echo back to me, how he was able to destroy an animatronic- several, in fact- bent on killing him... If he could do that, would another crime be much farther away? Another, darker crime?

The answer slowly dawns on me, and he laughs darkly as I stutter slightly.

"A-are you-"

"I wasn't always this way, you know. But bad things have changed me, and I'm no longer a good man. At least, not to you, and not to them."

He drops me from the pin-hold in the wall. "I didn't damage your endoskeleton. You're just fine. But, if you value your existence, I'd suggest running along, little doggie, before something worse happens to you."

I back away and dash out of the door. Out of the room with him, an insane man... A murderer.

- **Spring's POV** -

He scurries out the door. To escape. To escape from me.

I sigh and sit down, pulling my slowly decaying legs to my chest. I saw his face. He was terrified. He looked at me, and saw a demon. Like anyone else would.

I gaze blankly at the wall opposite me. I wanted to just open up and explain everything. But I can't, because in their eyes, I'm a cruel, sadistic creep. And hey, maybe they're right. I wish that wasn't true, but I cannot deny it. All that I've done...

 _'They said I could become anyone,'_ I think to myself _._

 _'So I became a monster,'_

 _'A murderer,'_

 _'A broken man,"_

I shut my eyelids tight and rest my head on my knees. Those... Kids. It was their fault. They were the ones that hurt those close to me, that hurt me, that hurt the night guards. And yet they're the ones who garner sympathy.

At this point, I really feel like grabbing an unsuspecting victim and them forcing them to listen to my deranged ranting. But if I did that to Tam, he'd probably cry or something, if I did it to one of the kids then they'd gang up on me, Wyless would be the one to run away and hide in the corner, and Olive would just revert back into silent and shy mode and would stop talking for a week. No one really wants to be around me when I'm in the mood to either punch a wall or snap an animatronic neck.

I bury my face in my arms, my golden rabbit ears flopping as I did so, my mind still overwhelmed with thoughts.

Everyone seems to think I'm exactly as I seem. And sometimes, I am. But not always, because no one is just one thing all the time. Olive isn't always happy on the inside, even if she is on the outside. Tam isn't always sad. The children aren't always bent on making my life horrible.

Maybe I could just talk to them. To Tam, to Wyless, and maybe make them understand. Or at least, not treat me so differently. But... They wouldn't understand, would they? They'd be confused by my behavior.

I couldn't just let them get away with it. It was the right thing to do. But as per usual, no one listens to me. As per usual, my side of the story means nothing.

Even when it's the only true side.

But hey, who am I to speak?

* * *

A/N: So, er... Sorry. I haven't exactly been updating in a while. Anyway... Here's a thing. It's for you. Here you go. I'm so nervous about posting this though.

 **Guest** : This story is awesome and if you update it more I will read it.

 **Author** : Thanks!

~#*#~

 **Cesium Amber** : This is a well-thought-out story. You make your characters relatable and I really feel bad for Freddy, Chica, Bonnie, and Foxy. Not a word of their lives before they became the animatronics, though...

 **Goldie** : But you don't feel bad for me? Okay, I guess...

 **Author** : Prepare for the backstory canon! (An explosion is heard in the distance.)

~#*#~

 **Invader Viceroy** : Nnnnnnnnice. Half of me wants Lori to be stuffed into a suit and the other half wants phone guy to talk to Lori. Also are the toy animatronics going to be used?

 **Author** : I haven't actually decided yet whether or not she is going to die. Even if I did, I wouldn't be telling~ Anyway, the toy animatronics will not play a large part in the story because they are nothing more than animatronics. They only function on their programming- whereas the others (Springtrap, Freddy, Foxy, etc.) are possessed, so they can think and feel like the humans they were (physically.)

~#*#~

 **Guest** : Can you add the toy animatronics? Except BB of course.

 **Author** : See above.

~#*#~

 **DragonCrusader** : Looking forward to reading more of this when it comes out. BTW Phone Guy/Tamarin If the animatronics do catch/almost catch Lori, you can attack them and try to save her. Be the Night Guard Guardian. That sounded cooler in my head.

 **Lori** : Say what now?

 **Phone Guy** : I'm not going to let her suffer... I'll save her.

~#*#~

 **Nanostar** EPIC: I love this story! Its developing very well! Oh and Bonnie? Your the best.

 **Bonnie** : Bonnie, as in me?! Not Spring Bonnie, or Toy Bonnie, but me?! Thank you!

~#*#~

 **LordTeridax2176** : Spring's returning to the public b*tches.

 **Spring(trap)** : You got that right.


	7. Chapter 7

**A quick note: If you are highly squeamish, skip the part where Spring gets iced. Just stop at the part with ghosts and go to the next POV.  
**

 **-Spring's POV-**

 **-6 years earlier-**

 _To be honest, I was incredibly proud of myself. Well, not exactly, but compared to everything else going on, it was pretty great, if such an emotion even existed. See, I got out of bed this morning and came to work in a relatively clean and professional manner. That was an achievement, to be honest, because I was... Well, I was me, I guess._

 _So, I suppose I could say that I was slightly more satisfied with my performance than expected, but given a day or two I'd likely be looking back at this small achievement like a long gone memory._

 _I sneezed from the dust floating around the place. Why wouldn't the company just take better care of the place? Alright, so I had to say that, well, maybe in their defense it was a new location and wasn't completely set up yet, but still. I mean, there were still leaks in the roof in some places, and I could have sworn that the place was infested with a miniature colony of rats._

 _Squinting, I leaned closer to the animatronic I was working on. It's not that I had poor eyesight, oh no, I just needed to focus when I was messing with the animatronic's endoskeleton, and believe me when I said I knew those things inside and out. I could probably dismantle them in a heartbeat if things came down to it, not that there was any need to. At least, I was going to hope that and be done with it. How things were lately, I really wasn't up to facing a small army of robots. I'd rather just flop down and let them kill me, if I had the choice. Be easier for them at the very least._

 _Yet, for whatever the reason, it was always the ears that liked to fall off, or break, or twist oddly, or basically anything else that they possible could. I couldn't tell if it was the screws or what, but I was determined (in my own way, of course) to just get them to stay, and that would be that- nothing more. I needed to reattach the ear that had fallen off, and I had to make sure that it was linked appropriately to the mechanism that allowed it to move. Technical work with a dose of mechanics, yada yada yada. Simple enough, I suppose, coming from my perspective, and I would hope that it is considering I had gone to school for that._

 _"And there we go." I mumbled softly, stepping down from the little stool I had been standing on to get a better vantage point. That was okay, right? Not too many things seemed to go right, not when I was involved at the very least. Wincing slightly, I tapped the toe of my boot on the ground, trying to regain some feeling and rid my right foot of that pins-and-needles feel._

 _"I finished cleaning up the game machine. If you're done working on… whatever you're doing, we can lock up and head out."_

 _Turning around, I glanced down at the slightly younger man standing on the still slightly dirty floor of the new location, head reaching several feet below me as I was on the stage. Some of our fellow employees had jokingly nicknamed him "Phone Guy," since he was the one that set up most of the animatronic suit audio tutorials, although he did do things other than that. I mean, he wasn't useless, and he had a job to keep._

 _He coughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. "And, uh, I wanted to know if you were up to get a few drinks tonight or something, on me. I- I mean, we never really get to talk anymore, and since you showed up to work today, I thought t- that maybe you were feeling... Better..."_

 _I sighed in a hintingly annoyed tone, shoving my hands into my jean pockets and looking away, mildly guilty. "Look, I'm just not up for it. I- I need to finish some stuff anyway, before I can go. You head out, I'll lock up when I'm done here." I didn't want to let anything wrong slip, but whether my sincerity of guilt or having caught onto my annoyance, he let it drop- if anything, in an out-of-character move. We were good friends, perhaps he just knew not to push anything too far right now._

 _He cast me a worried glance before giving an "Okay, see you later," and making his way towards the door._

 _Maybe..._

 _I checked my watch, finding the time to be pretty late. That was fine, I guess… Y'know, whatever. I was nearly done anyway, although I still needed to double check on the spring-bonnie suit in the back, not to mention the game machine. It was supposed to be working, but you never know, and now that it wasn't as much of a hunk of dirt and dust I was slightly less opposed to messing around with it._

 _Rubbing my eyes tiredly, I stepped off the stage that the animatronics were resting on, grabbing the little toolbox I had and the step-stool. I'd dump those in the backroom as well, since I was pretty sure that the game machine was going to be moved anyway to make a little arcade area elsewhere in the building. If it wasn't, I could always come back and fetch them later. But… but not tonight._

 _As I headed out of the room, I stole a glance back at the animatronics on the stage. Back at the old location, we had put them out as a quick trial to see how customers would react. Mostly it was positive, although a few people had compared them to, well, rotting corpses. Disgusting, yes, and hopefully not true. Even so, in the dark, with the way the temporary lighting was set up... Well, I just had to keep in mind that these were kid friendly things._

 _Well, only when they up there, on stage, away from other people. Not… not within… biting… Taking a deep, albeit shaky breath, not wanting my mind to start heading in the direction its thoughts were going, I turned away. Habitually, I silently began to reach up to my neck before becoming aware of what I was doing and forcing my hand down again._

 _I made my way into the little backroom area, footsteps sounding incredibly loud in the silent workspace. Priorities first. I walked in, seeing the pale blue-white of the game machine's screen glowing and providing illumination to the room._

 _Leaving the stool against the wall, I grabbed the toolbox and put it beside the spring-bonnie suit, not bothering to turn on an extra light, save for a small flashlight I had. The golden rabbit suit was officially retired at this point, but I was still supposed to double-check that it hadn't been damaged in shipping, same old same old kind of drill. Considering how late it was, I was probably just going to make sure that the spring-locks opened and closed right, instead of actually going through and assessing the entire suit. The company apparently didn't have much of anyone qualified for anything dealing with robotic work aside from me, though…_

 _I frowned slightly. Maybe just next week… Maybe even tomorrow… I'd, I'd do it another time._

 _Gripping the flashlight between my teeth (I could have gone for the room lighting, although in all honesty I didn't trust the electrical system and doubted the bulb would even work if I did), I began my work. One thing I did notice, however, was the fact that the right ear had fallen off, because hey! It's an ear, what else is it going to do? Be helpful and stay intact for once? Groaning in annoyance, with a hint of defeat and resignation, I just hoped with any luck it was around here somewhere, and maybe it would be reattached eventually._

 _I grabbed the hand-crank out of the toolbox, putting it into the animatronic's body and beginning to, well, crank it. This started the mechanism that would cause the endoskeleton to move outward and press against the sides of the suit, being held in place by the spring-locks._

 _Thinking that it was working fine, I went to return the suit to its normal state, but before I was able to begin this I heard... Something, like a heavy footfall. I froze from my work for a moment, straining my ears. Did I imagine that? Or was- was there someone in the building?_

 _No, surely not. But- there it was. Again, a footstep. A heavy thud._

 _Taking a few slow breaths, I quietly rose from my crouching position, clicking the flashlight off and thrusting the room back into the soft blue light of the game machine. I was fully aware that either I was overreacting, or maybe someone came in to grab something they forgot. But… might as well check, I supposed. It couldn't hurt to, surely._

 _I made my way back to the doorway, narrowly escaping a stray water droplet falling from a particularly resilient mold spot on the ceiling that had yet to be repaired, and peered out. It didn't look like there was anything there, should I walk around? That would be a bit paranoid, but, you never know..._

 _Then I heard the noise again, but instead of one or two footfalls that I couldn't be sure I had heard, it was consistent. Someone, or something, was walking around the place, and to me it sure didn't sound like a normal person. People don't walk like a, well, robot._

 _My breath caught in my throat as the noises grew closer, and I put a hand in front of my mouth to cover any strangled-child sounds I may make involuntarily. Of course, moments later, it rounded the corner._

 _Well, I'll give it credit for catching myself unaware, because the last thing I really expected was for one of the animatronics to be wa_ _lking around, let alone doing it seemingly with a purpose. Sure, I supposed it was possible, but why...?_

 _Oh. Oh, no. No, no, no..._

~#*#~

 _I stood still, breathing heavily, ragged, and slow. What had I done, exactly?!_

 _Ha, well... That was simple enough. I had hidden myself in the shadows of the doorway, hoping the animatronics didn't take a notice. Anyway, I had watched as the Freddy suit moved closer before hesitating, but only for a few moments. Two or three seconds at the most._

 _In that time, I was armed with a crowbar from my tools and had bloody murder on my mind. I had already put two and two together- the "rotting corpse" comparison. The lack of bodies after the murders._

 _It may not have made sense to you, but to me- oh yes, it fit perfectly! They were ghosts, spirits, haunting the place!_

 _And of course, they were out to get me, because I had... Well, I had been the one that killed them- and they wanted vengeance._

 _But it hadn't stopped there. After Freddy, the others came filing in._

 _Was... Was I safe now? There were only four, surely I was!_

 _I shook my head. No, I wasn't a cruel man, hadn't "gone off the deep end," and I wouldn't let myself feel any satisfaction from this. Still... Broken animatronic parts littered the ground, and I couldn't help but allow a nervous smile to pass over my face, but all it did was magnify the realization of what I had done._

 _Looking down at the parts and pieces around me, I hesitantly let my voice ask softly, "Is that it? Is that all you have for me?"_

 _I... I guess it was. There was nothing else here._

 _Turning away, I gave a long, drawn out sigh. What would I say, when people asked me about this? But there was nothing I could do about it now. I might as well just go, what else was there for me to do? Shaking my head with eyes downcast, I slowly made my way towards the backroom to get my things before I'd leave, get out of here. I'd figure it out tomorrow._

 _Stooping down, I reached to grab my toolbox before shivering slightly, an odd prickling feeling crawling up the back of my neck. Confused, and admittedly a bit fearful, I slowly straightened up, before wheeling around to face whatever it was that was behind me._

 _I wasn't quite sure what I was expecting, but it wasn't this._

 _It wasn't the faces of four of the children I murdered. They stared back at me with blank faces, eyes empty. Darkened tears trailed down their cheeks. They came back once for me, why could I expect that would be all?!_

 _Backing up slowly, I took a deep breath, but all it did was catch in my throat. "What do want from me?!" I yelled. They didn't waver, didn't move. Why would they… Oh._

 _They were blocking the door, my only escape. But they weren't advancing on me, only standing still and just… Watching. But why? What were they waiting for?!_

 _Then, a fifth figure joined them, looking younger than the rest. But this one wasn't blank-faced. No, it had a murderous expression that nobody would ever, ever want to see on a child._

 _Especially not this one._

 _And of course, he stepped towards me. I nearly shrieked, stumbling backwards, only causing him to follow. What would he do to me if he caught me?!_

 _Oh no, I had to hide, hide from these- these things! They would kill me, I knew it, as revenge for what I had done to them, and- of course!_

 _The spring-bonnie suit! Feeling that special rush of elation that comes not from joy but relief, I practically jumped into it, as I hadn't had the chance to close the endoskeleton earlier, something I was incredibly grateful for now. I couldn't be sure of my reasoning at this moment, I just felt so positively right that I would be safe from them in this._

 _In fact, I laughed. It was strained and scared, but I saw a flicker of emotion go over their faces._

 _But it wasn't fear, or anger. They… They were smirking back at me. I couldn't fathom their reason to, until I saw a drop of water fall from the ceiling, splashing on the floor near my foot._

 _Then, it occurred to me why, as I heard the sound of the spring-locks failing, and a deathly crack that practically made my heart stop. The spring-locks were not to be shaken, be breathed on, or come into contact with the body or moisture._

 _And I had done all of those things._

 _I tried to scream as I felt the metal bars, twisting into my flesh, forcing themselves into my skin, veins, bones, but blood was already beginning to fill my throat. My legs gave away beneath me and I fell to the ground, only jarring the suit more._

 _Vision fading fast, senses were overwhelmed, but I could still feel the warmth of the tears running down my face- all too similar to the blood flowing down of my arms and legs. The pain was near unbearable._

 _"P- plea- se. He- help m- me." I begged in broken gasps, feeling hot blood bubble up and drip from my mouth, further slurring my speech. "P- plea- se…" But why would they? Their laughter filled my ears, even drowning out my stuttering heartbeat, as they looked down at me._

 _I felt dizzy, hazy, I couldn't move right, every part of me was screaming, blood dripping down onto the floor. I opened my mouth in another exclamation of pain, but nothing came out save for a choked gasp as twin metal spines shot through my jaw, silencing me. Wires and beams shoved inside of my body, skewering me._

 _I couldn't breathe, could barely see, was nearly dead._

 _Why couldn't it just be over?! Wasn't this what I had wanted not too long ago, to end the guilt?!_

 _But I didn't want it like this._

 _I could only lay there, trembling slightly, as they began to fade away, giving me one last victorious look as they did so._

 _The last child stopped, looking at me for a long moment. It was the one that died a little different from the rest, the only one who's animatronic body I hadn't destroyed. I could feel his gaze wash over for me._

 _Yet with that, and not a single word, he too faded away. He was gone. And thankfully, so was I._

 _It was finally, finally over…_

 _Right?_

 **-Tamarin's POV-**

 **-the present-**

Michael had gone into the kitchen in pursuit of Spring. I supposed I could try and stop him, but why should I? Somehow I doubted that Spring would physically tear his suit apart, and confident that he would "survive" his encounter, I didn't see any need to interfere.

Taking my chance, I glanced around the room, animatronic eyes landing on Olive. Michael wanted to talk to Spring, I wanted to speak with her.

Stepping forward, I went over to grab her attention for a few moments. She saw me walk over to her and straightened up from how she had been, slumped down on the table boredly, head on her arms. I vaguely wondered what she did most of the time, as despite tagging along with Spring they were very different in age and personality.

"Olive, can I ask you something, real quick?"

She blinked, before replying. "Sure, what do ya need?"

I sat down on the chair in front of her, lowering my voice. Despite having watched as the group of children, excluding Marionette and Goldie who had gone off to the office, go over into Pirate's Cove to do something or another, I wasn't really too keen on them overhearing hearing us. I doubted that they could, though, unless they were eavesdropping.

"Alright, Olive, listen. The- the children, they seem to, well, not hate you and somewhat like you, I guess? I- I don't know if this is possible, but-"

"You want to protect Lori, don't you? You think they listen to me?"

I looked at her confusedly. Not only had she practically read my mind, but she seemed to be taking my request seriously and not just laugh happily with a "will do" like I had expected her to.

She returned the look. "W- what?"

I shook my head. "Nothing."

She shrugged it off, before sighing. "Look, I- I really do want to help you, but I… I can't. They don't hate me, but I can't influence them."

I felt the little aspiration I had that maybe she could do something sputter and die.

"Well, they all know you well, I thought- eh, maybe-"

She looked down, almost ashamed. "I don't want to hurt anyone. But I don't think I can do anything. They have their own twisted logic."

I frowned inwardly, dejectedly. "I'm like a bad omen, aren't I? People I care about- always getting hurt."

"Or maybe that's just life, and you're luckier than they are, in a sense." She replied. Not knowing how to answer, I stayed silent.

I just had to hope that she- Lori, that is- would survive. Last night, I had seen them acting different. They were focused, intent on what they were going to do. Not like they normally were.

"She's not to give up, Tamarin."

I nodded, saying "thanks" even if what she had said hadn't made me feel much better. Coming from her, it seemed that she had just accepted what was happening and wanted to make the best of it. She wanted to be as happy as she could, and sometimes it was even genuine- even if it wasn't always. She had accepted that no one would ever know about what goes on here, no one would ever know that we were real human beings that could think and talk. Maybe one day we would tell our story to someone. But maybe not. I glanced up as she stood.

She turned the corner, away from the party area, likely heading over to the office. Not too much later, she came back with Goldie and Marionette in tow, heading over to the backstage area, as cheerful as she normally seemed to be. I wondered how much of it was an act, or if she had really just chosen to go with it all.

Sighing inwardly, feeling disappointed, I too finally stood up, going to lean against a wall outside of the kitchen and wait for Michael to come back out.

 **-Mike's POV-**

There is no dignified way to shamefully scamper away from someone. So, composing myself the best I could, I stepped out of the kitchen.

Glancing around, it seemed that everyone had decided to move around during the few minutes (at the very most) as I had been having that rather… one sided conversation with Spring. From what I could tell at the moment, the main four had gathered in Pirate's Cove, as I could see them through a gap in the curtains. Contrastingly, I had basically no clue where Olive, Goldie, and Marionette had gone off to, and it also seemed that Tamarin had disappeared to who-knows-where.

Almost hesitantly, I walked forward. Turning the corner, I was suddenly forced to stop short, to avoid running into Tamarin, happen to speak of him. Briefly, I wondered if he had heard, but shook away the thought, deciding he couldn't have.

Still, I dove right to the point. "Spring told me what he did, but-"

"But? W- what else is there?" He asked, in a slightly uncaring tone.

"Listen, it's just that, well-" I continued somewhat quieter, not wanting anyone else to overhear our conversation, but not really having anywhere else to talk. I wasn't sure how well this place echoed.

"Uh, hold on." Tamarin said quickly, seeming to pick up in this, saying something along the lines of "just in case" quietly, almost to the point that I couldn't hear him. He motioned me to follow him, and we went to stand by the office doors. Once we were there, I took it as my cue to continue speaking.

"It's Spring himself."

"Huh? What about him?"

"Look, I just don't know what to make of him. He's not manipulative, not a crazy serial killer, just, well… Blunt. Like he doesn't care about anything at all, and if he does, it's in a negative way. And I've barely talked to him over these past, what, two or three days I've been dead?" I wasn't sure why I was making such a big deal about this. It was just… Off, I guess. Strange. Not what I would expect.

Tamarin shrugged. "I don't really know what to say about that. He could be manipulative, could be crazy like that, maybe it's all an act. I don't know. Just… Maybe instead of always asking questions, you can try listening for once. You're a very curious person, Michael."

"Thank you, for your indispensable wisdom." I replied lightly, but even that was in a slightly forced tone.

Tamarin just shook his head at my incredibly weak attempt at humor. "You're welcome." He finally replied.

Before, Tamarin had seemed a bit reluctant to talk about Spring, but I didn't want to drop the topic, and he was deliberately beating around it.

"What was Spring like? When you were alive?"

Tamarin sighed, rubbing his arm. "Fine. Kind of quiet, I guess."

"Not going to elaborate? At all?"

Once it became clear that he wasn't going to answer, I finally just chose to stop asking. It seemed to have become clear that no one here was ready, or willing, to just give me answers so far- and even if they were, I'd have to work to get them. I would… I would get them, though, because Tamarin was right. I was curious. I wanted to know, and I even wanted to help.

Stepping through the office and out of the other side, we walked along the hallway towards Pirate's Cove, just at the time that the little group that had been doing whatever was dispersing.

"Oh, hey Wyless!" Foxy said. "T- tamarin."

Tamarin didn't react to the stutter, so I wondered if it was just something I had imagined. Brushing it off, I listened as Foxy continued on.

"We need to get back to the stages. The night guard's coming in early, it's almost ten-thirty." He seemed proud of being the one to say this, for whatever reason.

I blinked, confused. "How do you know?"

He pointed to a piece of paper tacked on a bulletin board outside of the manager's office. I had noticed it, but hadn't gone to read it. "The guy who runs the place is really particular. He writes when every shift starts and ends, and if someone is coming in later or earlier than usual he makes records it here so everyone knows. That's why not many people know that we move around- we know when they're coming. Even the manager comes in during normal hours."

Oh. So that's why I never noticed them out of place when I came in early. One thing I had definitely noticed, however, was that the manager was a huge stickler for order.

Foxy ducked back behind the curtains while Bonnie, Freddy, and Chica walked back up onto the show stage. Olive walked out of backstage, and Freddy quickly said something along the lines of "night guard in ten," probably meaning ten minutes. She nodded, before going back into the kitchen.

It stuck me as to how orchestrated they were. It was like being a toy that came to life when people weren't around. They all knew how to not be noticed, knew how to go about their "life" without anyone suspecting a thing.

I just had to feel the sheer weight of the fact that we would be stuck here for who knows how long, and nobody would ever know the truth. No one would ever realize that we were real people, forced to be here and perform for children every day.

We all went to stand on the stages, the three on the show stage frozen in place, holding props, standing posed. Us three, behind the curtain, were in a more slack position. I was watching through the part in the curtain, waiting for something to happen. Tamarin was sitting down against the wall, Foxy doing the same, although they were poised noticeably apart.

After several silent minutes, broken only by someone shifting slightly now and again, there was a rattling sound as a person outside fumbled with the lock outside of the building.

The door finally opened, a few people coming in. One I didn't recognize, Lori, and the manager.

"Alright, Fritz- you can go ahead and get to work. Two of the ones you'll be working on are in the kitchen, and one more should be in the basement. Just remember-"

"I got your notice. I already know." The manager nodded at this and Fritz went off into the kitchen.

I felt like I should recognize at least the name "Fritz," but it didn't seem to be ringing any bells. It was probably just some worker who filled in for someone or another at some point.

He turned to Lori, holding up a little plastic bag, but I was unable to decipher what it contained.

"Hey, uh, is this yours? One of the day shift workers found it in the kitchen so I didn't think it was, but it never hurts to ask."

She shook her head, and he handed her the baggie. "Alright. Would you mind setting it on the desk in the guard's- well yours, until you quit- office?"

"That's fine." She replied, taking it from him before going off to the office. "Oh, and if Fritz needs help with holding a light or something, would you mind doing so? He's not gonna murder you or anything, honest."

She agreed and without so much as a "have a nice night" the manager spun around and headed back out the door.

* * *

A/N: Oh. Look at that. An update. *Shakes fist* This story will be finished by the time I'm done with it! But in all honesty, seeing that people are still reading this and still looking forward to an ending… It's gonna be finished eventually. Oh, and about the cover... It's just a little lined image I whipped up in less than an hour as a place holder. I may replace it at some point considering it's not exactly good. Ah well.

~#*#~

 **Wolftron666:** It's a good job, and seeing how I like Royksopp (look it up), I have to say...thank you. But one thing about June 26th...it reminds me of Doctor Who. Also, mind blown! That's how I say, GG. Good, good story.

 **Author:** June 26 was actually a completely random date on my part. And thank you!

~#*#~

 **Lolzer1987:** #BONNIE BONNIE BONNIE BONNIE BONNIE BONNIE!

 **Bonnie:** *gasps* That's me!

 **Spring(trap):** I'm the other Bonnie. The yellow one.

~#*#~

 **lex1013:** Epic. Also, in my vision, Mike before he had died had a friend...my alter ego known as Immunity. Apparently, Immunity's playing some songs from his favorite stuff just a couple feet away. At this point, Mike hears Immunity playing the Ending OST from Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald. Second, DARN IT THE EXPLOSION WAS UNDER MY BED! Third...meh, i think Immunity should at least be mentioned. Not that i am MAD or anything, i just think it would be sorta...neat.

 **Author:** Pokémon came out after the time frame of this story.


	8. Chapter 8

**Spring's POV**

 _The five stages of grief are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance._

 _Let's count out what I've experienced so far, shall we?_

 _To start off with, there was the lovely absolute terror of waking up unable to move or speak. The last thing I remembered was screaming as the springlocks collapsed around me… And then waking up here. I told myself again and again "this, this isn't real!" The only problem with that is how it was, in fact, real. I could feel the cold floor underneath me, seeping frozen fingers into my back which was pressed firmly against it. There was no breeze or even a slight draft, the air being still and likely stale. There was only dim light, so little it was difficult to make out the countless dust particles undoubtedly floating throughout the air and landing to rest over my new body._

 _Maybe I wasn't able to accept that this was happening. I really was scared, really was confused. How did this happen? How was it possible? Why was I here?_

 _It shouldn't be!_

 _That was denial, yes, and anger came next._

 _It didn't take me too long to learn how to move my new body. This was good for me, as stumbling around and falling face-first into the ground is something that can quickly frustrate a man. I had been walking for years and suddenly had to figure it all out again! I would gladly consider myself a pro at standing up and even walking, but here I was going about with the grace of a toddler._

 _However, after the genuine struggle I had to face learning to stay on my feet alone I had the freedom I moving about. It's not like my legs had been broken and I had to drag myself along, because in the end those arms weren't going to cooperate any more than the legs._

 _During my practices of standing and putting feet in front of the other I had noticed something: While there may have been a good deal of junk in the room, there wasn't a normal door. No handle in the wall, not even a push bar. There was, however a door frame, not that it was of much use without a whole. I was fairly sure it had been painted over from the other side, but I couldn't hear anything coming from it._

 _Constantly I would go to check the door to listen, thinking someone was here. However, I just didn't know if anyone would ever be there. I knew this was the same room I had died in- so maybe the place was abandoned and was nothing more than an empty, broken down building._

 _Maybe I'd be trapped in here for ever._

 _It was a terrifying thought._

 _Frustrated, I banged my fists on the door. My voice was still weak but I still hissed out "Hello?! Anyone there?! Let me out, please!"_

 _Oh, no one would hear me when my scream was just a whisper..._

 _How long had it been since I woke up first? A month or two? Just a few weeks? Time didn't seem to be straight. There was no day and night of awake and asleep. There was just me, the game machine- which was broken again, I hadn't gotten around to fixing it- a few decorations, various tools, that sort of thing. The other golden suits had yet to be moved, and while the bear was probably already here I really had no idea what had happened to the… otter, was it?_

 _Despite the situation, I genuinely stopped to wonder whether not I should be yelling and shouting. What would someone think if there was yelling coming from a closed up room? Probably that a ghost was haunting it. Come to think of it, I guess there was- me. It was a… disheartening thought, to say the least._

 _There was nothing. No one was here. Or… maybe they were here but didn't care to listen. Maybe those… those kids. Maybe they were here and were listening in. They heard me._

 _The third was bargaining. Frankly, I wasn't about to stoop so low as to be pounding on the door, screaming for someone to help, or trying to catch the attention of any sort of divine entity that might be so gracious as to help me of all people. But if there was a chance..._

 _The fourth was depression. Easy enough._

 _Sighing, I flopped down to rest against the wall. It was still cold like the floor when I first woke up, but by now I was used to it. It matched the chilly, lifeless animatronic body I inhabited._

 _I hated this place. And as much as I did, I was going to be stuck here. And guess what? I hated that too. Wasn't I creative._

 _Absentmindedly, I pushed aside some of the party decorations that had been shoved in alongside the other scraps. I had seen my tool box was still in here; it felt silly to know that even while I was trapped in here I could still do my job. Maybe I could fix the game machine, but what was the point? There was the power outlet as well, but I knew the form I inhabited well. They could go a week before needing charge. It was crazy, really._

 _Suddenly, I heard something outside of the doorframe. I stumbled over, pressing my ear to the door, listening, trying to pick out words from the muffled voices._

 _"It's a shame that the vandalization took those guys out of commission."_

 _The vandalization? That was me…_

 _"The toys are made with top of the line technology. They'll be perfect."_

 _Wow. Wasn't I just so last year, hm?_

 _I'm not sure if I ever reached the fifth, acceptance. Just because I knew what was happening didn't mean I had to go with it._

 **Present Day**

I opened my eyes, being met with nothing but a dim room not unlike the one I had spent so long in. Then I had heard voices and sounds outside of the walls I was trapped in with no escape; now I only chose to stay because there was nothing else for me to do.

The toy animatronics had been scrapped all those years ago after legal issues. After the… "The Bite of '87" as it had been dubbed raised the issue that if "it" had happened once, it could happen again.

I had listened to the tape recordings from the old pizzeria, with the toy animatronics, after finding a few of them in the basement. I heard how the golden suits were mentioned. It made me wonder how long "Phone Guy" suspected something was up. He was trying to warn the nightguard about me, I was sure. But that was years ago.

The main door opened, and I heard a few voices. It was the manager explaining something or another, unfortunately I couldn't decipher their words. Ah well. Glancing over, I saw that Olive had fallen still. Unlike a living, breathing person, an animatronic didn't shift or have a rising and falling chest. An animatronic was nonliving. It looked dead, and those of us that possessed them didn't make it any different.

My head jerked up as I heard them pause outside of the kitchen door, still talking. I heard footsteps and someone walked into the kitchen. Outside, the manager was asking the night guard, Lori, if she had lost something. Eh, the pizzeria was a popular place. It was probably just some random person who was forgetful and didn't notice that they were walking out without all their possessions. People were just like that. I, on the other hand, didn't have much to lose.

I rubbed my right wrist without thinking, one of those things that people just did. It was really only a little habit of mine. My fingers grazed over the joint, the fabric frayed slightly, but otherwise there was nothing except-

Except…

It was gone. My necklace, I kept it around my wrist, unnoticeable unless you actually examined my arm, so where was it?! I- I couldn't have lost it!

Panic twisted inside my chest, but I quickly pushed it down. Maybe I just dropped it, and it was still in the room. That was better than whoever it was finding it, right?

I took a metaphorical deep breath, since I didn't exactly breath in any sense. Please let it be here...

Then, at that moment, the two out in the dining hall finished their conversation while the last person walked into the little side storage room that I resided in, causing me to immediately freeze and fall limp. I glanced up, a barely noticeable movement, trying to see his face.

Ah yes, Fritz. I may have been overreacting when I said he was some creep, as he really wasn't that bad. I never considered him in my inner circle of friends but he was always happy to help with something. He had worked in suit repair, dealing mostly with cleaning and stitching up the costumes. Additionally, he had assisted me with working on the endoskeletons and AI, although a lot of it was just simple stuff so we could get it all done quicker without having to worry about him breaking something.

He set down his work kit before stooping down beside me. He didn't have that much time to work, so it seemed he was going to get right on it.

I was already in a limp sitting position, so all he did was literally grab my head and turn it so that I was looking downward while he was examining my ears, which were tattered and nearly falling off. I sighed inwardly. I wasn't a big fan of physical contact, especially when I was just being positioned like a dummy, and my panic about losing my one possession wasn't helping. Olive herself wasn't very touchy-feely either, not to mention possessing a capability to keep to herself, which was part of the reason that I could tolerate such an outwardly bright and cheery person being around me.

Fritz sighed as he turned my head to a slightly different angle. "I wonder what unlucky night guard you were," he said softly.

What? I wasn't a night guard, never had been. Why would he-

"I actually stood in for the night guard, one time. Worst night of my life."

Made sense, I suppose. He started talking quietly again, but I was only paying half attention.

 **-Mike's POV-**

Another positive thing about having the curtains in Pirate's Cove was that they muffled sound. Tamarin and I were able to speak softly. Foxy basically ignored us, and we had more or less traded spots for him at the curtain and Tamarin and I sitting together so we could speak. It had clicked that it was night two, and he was practically waiting to pull apart the curtains and give a loose-jawed grin.

The animatronics, in my experience, didn't all move during the start of the week. I hadn't even seen the other golden ones. They were purposely going around and spooking Lori, it seemed, and while I was pretty sure that everyone had moved yesterday I wasn't exactly positive. Spring and Olive had snuck over outside of camera view, and while foxy had peeked out of the curtains I couldn't confirm if he and Freddy, as well as Goldie and the Marionette had moved at all.

We had been sitting in silence for a good while, little sound punctuating the mostly empty pizzeria. Finally, after what could have arguably been over an hour or possibly even two, Tamarin chose to speak.

"Hey Michael?" Tamarin asked me, his voice a whisper, but clearly understandable.

I looked over before answering. "Yeah?"

He hesitated for a moment or two before continuing. "Uh, it's fine if you don't want to answer. But, well, what was your life like? Before all of this.

I blinked, having not expected the question. I mean, I suppose it made sense he would ask me. I hadn't really pried about Tamarin, I didn't even know his real name, but I had asked a few questions.

So, where to start? He knew my own name and age already.

"Well, I'm… I live alone in the new apartment complex not too far from here. The one with the little garden area out front." It was fairly new, only having been built about a year or so ago.

He nodded to show he knew what I was talking about, so I continued.

"I drive up to the university in the city for classes. I'm trying to get a degree in education so I can be a teacher, later on. It's what I'm interested in."

"Really?" He asked. "I can imagine you working in, well, security and all that. Maybe a police officer, but a teacher?"

Shrugging, I explained, "I like working with children, explaining things and all of that. I'm not really cut out for high schoolers, but I like the idea of teaching little kids basic math and writing and such. I only took this job because I was having some debt problems, and I took the semester off to find full-time work."

I expected him to ask something else, but instead he just looked away, almost grimly. "Did you notice you talked in the present tense? 'I drive' and 'I'm trying to get a degree.'"

He was right. "Because I still don't want to accept what's happened."

He shook his head. "It's denial," he muttered, but said nothing more. Maybe that was a good thing, because he was right. I was in denial. I understood I was dead, but there was still a part of myself that wanted to keep on telling me that everything was okay and that things would continue on normally after this all blew over. It was like I was completely ignoring the fact that not only was I dead, but I was now possessing an animatronic wolf. It was madness.

Absolute insanity.

I shook my head slightly, in vain, an attempt to clear it.

Shifting slightly, I too turned away. Tamarin seemed nice, he just said the wrongs things, took implications the wrong way. So easy to do the wrong thing.

"Um..." I glanced over to where Foxy was standing at the point where the curtains met. They were still closed, although I had some sort of suspicion that Foxy had been looking out through them and making faces at the group out on the stage.

He continued once he realized he had my attention. "Well, uh, you said you wanted to be a teacher. And I just wanted to know if… maybe… you could teach me how to read."

He couldn't read? The obviousness of the situation just seemed to hit me all at once. Of course he couldn't- he would have been a yound child. He was illiterate, wouldn't be able to recite the times tables or list cloud types.

Olive was older, but even she wouldn't have been in anything higher than eighth or ninth grade. These were all children whose lives, homes, families had been ripped away from them. They didn't know life, and they didn't need to. They were all dead, "living" false lives that lead them to be unknown and unheard of.

It was a story that no one would ever know, wasn't it?

"Of course I will," I answered Foxy in what may have been considered an overly sympathetic tone. I felt bad, I really did. There was nothing I could do yet, but I really did want to help them. Maybe after six, before the pizzeria opened, I would be able to do something.

But not yet. It was nearly midnight. There was the sound of footsteps, and a door opening and closing. That was Fritz, heading out. A few minutes later, the ringing of a phone echoed around the building. There was no fancy bells at the start of the night shift, just the phone call. She must have picked up the phone, because I could hear Tamarin's voice, albeit muffled and slightly distorted considering there was considerable distance and a few walls between us.

I knew what he said in the recording, which had been set to automatically send to the office phone during the week.

"Uh, hello? Hello? Uh, well, if you're hearing this and you made it to day two, congrats!"

That was the cheery yet horribly nervous beginning, serving as a reminder that you were in a very bad position yet trying to make you feel as good as you could about it. He then went on to give a reminder about checking the cameras, using your door lights, and giving tips about Freddy and Foxy. He closed with some hasty reassurance.

Then, you were left to your own devices. With any luck you wouldn't die.

 **~#*#~**

The bell rang, and Lori predictably left as quickly as she could, barely pausing to tug on her coat and grab her purse. With that, she was gone until the next night.

I didn't want to face the next day. All that it entitled was the next in an endless wave of days, every single one the exact same. It reminded me of the feeling you received when doing an undesirable task. The first minute or two was okay. After that? Nothing but the slow loss of hope when you realise that it was far from over.

I stepped down from the stage. I hadn't moved at all that night, not wanting to scare the nightguard any more than they already had.

Glancing around, I saw the three on the stage be joined by Foxy as they sat down, legs dangling over the edge. Just a group of goofy friends hanging out to relieve their boredom. I could only imagine the divides that came up when one of them got into a fight. I noticed Bonnie look up after Foxy said something to him.

Spring slunk out of the kitchen, but at the moment I could honestly care less what he was doing or where he was going. As for everyone else, they seemed content enough to stay in their own little spots.

I rubbed my arm uncomfortably before turning to go to the office. Maybe I could steal some paper from there, and pencils. It felt odd, really, going to seek out these things to teach them. Although, if I really thought about it, this was some twist of fate way for me to do what I always wanted, even under the circumstances.

Life, death, fate, and joy can be strange sometimes and maybe it's not our place to interfere.

Or maybe, just maybe, I was acting more than a little loopy. Whatever the case, it didn't matter.

I stopped for a moment when I heard Tamarin approach me from behind, animatronic feet hitting the tiled floor. I looked over my shoulder, but waited a few moments for him to walk up to me.

"What're you doing?" I asked him. He only shrugged, so I chose not to ask anything further and took the remaining steps to the office, passing by the supply closet on the way. I turned left into the open doorway only to give a sudden jump back as I came face to face with Spring.

The two of us exchanged confused looks, and Tamarin helpfully voiced the question: "Why are you over here?"

Spring gave me an unimpressed look. "Am I now banned from the office as well?" He turned away from us, going back to whatever he had been doing. Stooping down, he started to rifle through a small stack of papers.

"Just curious, you don't need to bite."

He mockingly raised up his arms, but wasn't meeting my gaze. "I'll try not to, I've never found wolf to be particularly appetizing."

I vaguely wondered if he had ever eaten realy wolf meat, or even dog for that matter. He didn't seem to be exactly a well cultured man, one who had traveled to many places and seen many things. If anything he was just messing with me. Either that or this was some sort of incredibly roundabout way of apologizing, although in all honestly that seemed highly unlikely.

"Spring, just stop. Get whatever it is you're looking for, then just go," Tamarin said.

"I can't find it and that's just the problem, isn't it? I wouldn't be looking otherwise," Spring replied in the most patronizing, condescending way possible.

Tamarin pushed past me and into the office, standing beside Spring. Tamarin lifted a stack of papers, finding a notepad underneath. He handed it to me along with a few pencils and a pen he grabbed from the little cup set on the desk beside the fan. I had been the one to put it there, not too long ago.

Spring had been watching this with an incredibly annoyed expression with a bit of simple unamusement but said nothing. It seemed that whatever friendship Tamarin claimed they used to have either prevented him from completely ripping Tamarin's head off, or he decided it was too easy to do it right now and was devising some sort of devious plot to do it later. I wasn't going to put it past him.

"There. Now, uh, go back to whatever you were doing, whatever it was that you were searching for," Tamarin told him uncertainly, taking a half step away from the scowling golden rabbit.

Spring sighed loudly, lightly tapping his fingers on the desk. He suddenly whipped around and snatched the pad of paper away from me, and one of the pens. Flipping the cover back, he tore off the first page. Pressing on the desk he quickly scribbled something on it, but didn't look up at either of us. I suppose that's a good thing, considering that if you're not looking at where you're writing the text always seems to go off the lines in crazy directions.

I can credit him to one thing, however: I never knew that it was possible to write so viciously. Had this not been Spring I may have voiced it, but it was. He finished the short note, folded the paper in half to obscure the message, and set it back on the desk before taking a few steps back, handing me the notepad and pen.

"It's not here, so if you've got any other random business here then go right ahead. I'm done."

And with that, he left. As he did, I saw an indecisive look flit over his face and he paused for the slightest of moments, as if not sure whether or not he should leave. He was in here before we were and came in with a purpose, I just had no idea what he was really planning to do. Whatever it was he seemed to decide that it was better just to go.

Tamarin reached out to the desk, grabbing the note. He opened it up, looking to see the contents inside. Glancing at it from over his shoulder, I listened as he read the note.

"Night guard, listen. Please don't be an emotional idiot. You may not know it, but you have friends here in the night, despite how much it sounds like stupid poetry. We can't do everything, though. Keep your reflexes fast and never miss a beat or else you'll be dead. Oh, and as much as it pains you to do so, actually listen to the recordings. They're useful."

I read the signature after Tamarin finished speaking. "Signed, IDP."

I could only guess that those were Spring's initials, of his real name, and that he wanted to warn Lori.

Tamarin just sighed loudly. "I can't believe this," he muttered. "At least he's honest, I suppose."

Yeah. Brutally honest, it seemed. "Why would he write this?" I asked.

Tamarin shrugged, still looking at the note. "He probably wrote this because he knows he'll be annoyed by me 'whining'. Although to be honest, I've got no clue why he came here in the first place."

Well, he wasn't the only one.

No one seemed to have any idea of what was going on here. **Spring's POV**

 _The five stages of grief are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance._

 _Let's count out what I've experienced so far, shall we?_

 _To start off with, there was the lovely absolute terror of waking up unable to move or speak. The last thing I remembered was screaming as the springlocks collapsed around me… And then waking up here. I told myself again and again "this, this isn't real!" The only problem with that is how it was, in fact, real. I could feel the cold floor underneath me, seeping frozen fingers into my back which was pressed firmly against it. There was no breeze or even a slight draft, the air being still and likely stale. There was only dim light, so little it was difficult to make out the countless dust particles undoubtedly floating throughout the air and landing to rest over my new body._

 _Maybe I wasn't able to accept that this was happening. I really was scared, really was confused. How did this happen? How was it possible? Why was I here?_

 _It shouldn't be!_

 _That was denial, yes, and anger came next._

 _It didn't take me too long to learn how to move my new body. This was good for me, as stumbling around and falling face-first into the ground is something that can quickly frustrate a man. I had been walking for years and suddenly had to figure it all out again! I would gladly consider myself a pro at standing up and even walking, but here I was going about with the grace of a toddler._

 _However, after the genuine struggle I had to face learning to stay on my feet alone I had the freedom I moving about. It's not like my legs had been broken and I had to drag myself along, because in the end those arms weren't going to cooperate any more than the legs._

 _During my practices of standing and putting feet in front of the other I had noticed something: While there may have been a good deal of junk in the room, there wasn't a normal door. No handle in the wall, not even a push bar. There was, however a door frame, not that it was of much use without a whole. I was fairly sure it had been painted over from the other side, but I couldn't hear anything coming from it._

 _Constantly I would go to check the door to listen, thinking someone was here. However, I just didn't know if anyone would ever be there. I knew this was the same room I had died in- so maybe the place was abandoned and was nothing more than an empty, broken down building._

 _Maybe I'd be trapped in here for ever._

 _It was a terrifying thought._

 _Frustrated, I banged my fists on the door. My voice was still weak but I still hissed out "Hello?! Anyone there?! Let me out, please!"_

 _Oh, no one would hear me when my scream was just a whisper..._

 _How long had it been since I woke up first? A month or two? Just a few weeks? Time didn't seem to be straight. There was no day and night of awake and asleep. There was just me, the game machine- which was broken again, I hadn't gotten around to fixing it- a few decorations, various tools, that sort of thing. The other golden suits had yet to be moved, and while the bear was probably already here I really had no idea what had happened to the… otter, was it?_

 _Despite the situation, I genuinely stopped to wonder whether not I should be yelling and shouting. What would someone think if there was yelling coming from a closed up room? Probably that a ghost was haunting it. Come to think of it, I guess there was- me. It was a… disheartening thought, to say the least._

 _There was nothing. No one was here. Or… maybe they were here but didn't care to listen. Maybe those… those kids. Maybe they were here and were listening in. They heard me._

 _The third was bargaining. Frankly, I wasn't about to stoop so low as to be pounding on the door, screaming for someone to help, or trying to catch the attention of any sort of divine entity that might be so gracious as to help me of all people. But if there was a chance..._

 _The fourth was depression. Easy enough._

 _Sighing, I flopped down to rest against the wall. It was still cold like the floor when I first woke up, but by now I was used to it. It matched the chilly, lifeless animatronic body I inhabited._

 _I hated this place. And as much as I did, I was going to be stuck here. And guess what? I hated that too. Wasn't I creative._

 _Absentmindedly, I pushed aside some of the party decorations that had been shoved in alongside the other scraps. I had seen my tool box was still in here; it felt silly to know that even while I was trapped in here I could still do my job. Maybe I could fix the game machine, but what was the point? There was the power outlet as well, but I knew the form I inhabited well. They could go a week before needing charge. It was crazy, really._

 _Suddenly, I heard something outside of the doorframe. I stumbled over, pressing my ear to the door, listening, trying to pick out words from the muffled voices._

 _"It's a shame that the vandalization took those guys out of commission."_

 _The vandalization? That was me…_

 _"The toys are made with top of the line technology. They'll be perfect."_

 _Wow. Wasn't I just so last year, hm?_

 _I'm not sure if I ever reached the fifth, acceptance. Just because I knew what was happening didn't mean I had to go with it._

 **Present Day**

I opened my eyes, being met with nothing but a dim room not unlike the one I had spent so long in. Then I had heard voices and sounds outside of the walls I was trapped in with no escape; now I only chose to stay because there was nothing else for me to do.

The toy animatronics had been scrapped all those years ago after legal issues. After the… "The Bite of '87" as it had been dubbed raised the issue that if "it" had happened once, it could happen again.

I had listened to the tape recordings from the old pizzeria, with the toy animatronics, after finding a few of them in the basement. I heard how the golden suits were mentioned. It made me wonder how long "Phone Guy" suspected something was up. He was trying to warn the nightguard about me, I was sure. But that was years ago.

The main door opened, and I heard a few voices. It was the manager explaining something or another, unfortunately I couldn't decipher their words. Ah well. Glancing over, I saw that Olive had fallen still. Unlike a living, breathing person, an animatronic didn't shift or have a rising and falling chest. An animatronic was nonliving. It looked dead, and those of us that possessed them didn't make it any different.

My head jerked up as I heard them pause outside of the kitchen door, still talking. I heard footsteps and someone walked into the kitchen. Outside, the manager was asking the night guard, Lori, if she had lost something. Eh, the pizzeria was a popular place. It was probably just some random person who was forgetful and didn't notice that they were walking out without all their possessions. People were just like that. I, on the other hand, didn't have much to lose.

I rubbed my right wrist without thinking, one of those things that people just did. It was really only a little habit of mine. My fingers grazed over the joint, the fabric frayed slightly, but otherwise there was nothing except-

Except…

It was gone. My necklace, I kept it around my wrist, unnoticeable unless you actually examined my arm, so where was it?! I- I couldn't have lost it!

Panic twisted inside my chest, but I quickly pushed it down. Maybe I just dropped it, and it was still in the room. That was better than whoever it was finding it, right?

I took a metaphorical deep breath, since I didn't exactly breath in any sense. Please let it be here...

Then, at that moment, the two out in the dining hall finished their conversation while the last person walked into the little side storage room that I resided in, causing me to immediately freeze and fall limp. I glanced up, a barely noticeable movement, trying to see his face.

Ah yes, Fritz. I may have been overreacting when I said he was some creep, as he really wasn't that bad. I never considered him in my inner circle of friends but he was always happy to help with something. He had worked in suit repair, dealing mostly with cleaning and stitching up the costumes. Additionally, he had assisted me with working on the endoskeletons and AI, although a lot of it was just simple stuff so we could get it all done quicker without having to worry about him breaking something.

He set down his work kit before stooping down beside me. He didn't have that much time to work, so it seemed he was going to get right on it.

I was already in a limp sitting position, so all he did was literally grab my head and turn it so that I was looking downward while he was examining my ears, which were tattered and nearly falling off. I sighed inwardly. I wasn't a big fan of physical contact, especially when I was just being positioned like a dummy, and my panic about losing my one possession wasn't helping. Olive herself wasn't very touchy-feely either, not to mention possessing a capability to keep to herself, which was part of the reason that I could tolerate such an outwardly bright and cheery person being around me.

Fritz sighed as he turned my head to a slightly different angle. "I wonder what unlucky night guard you were," he said softly.

What? I wasn't a night guard, never had been. Why would he-

"I actually stood in for the night guard, one time. Worst night of my life."

Made sense, I suppose. He started talking quietly again, but I was only paying half attention.

 **-Mike's POV-**

Another positive thing about having the curtains in Pirate's Cove was that they muffled sound. Tamarin and I were able to speak softly. Foxy basically ignored us, and we had more or less traded spots for him at the curtain and Tamarin and I sitting together so we could speak. It had clicked that it was night two, and he was practically waiting to pull apart the curtains and give a loose-jawed grin.

The animatronics, in my experience, didn't all move during the start of the week. I hadn't even seen the other golden ones. They were purposely going around and spooking Lori, it seemed, and while I was pretty sure that everyone had moved yesterday I wasn't exactly positive. Spring and Olive had snuck over outside of camera view, and while foxy had peeked out of the curtains I couldn't confirm if he and Freddy, as well as Goldie and the Marionette had moved at all.

We had been sitting in silence for a good while, little sound punctuating the mostly empty pizzeria. Finally, after what could have arguably been over an hour or possibly even two, Tamarin chose to speak.

"Hey Michael?" Tamarin asked me, his voice a whisper, but clearly understandable.

I looked over before answering. "Yeah?"

He hesitated for a moment or two before continuing. "Uh, it's fine if you don't want to answer. But, well, what was your life like? Before all of this.

I blinked, having not expected the question. I mean, I suppose it made sense he would ask me. I hadn't really pried about Tamarin, I didn't even know his real name, but I had asked a few questions.

So, where to start? He knew my own name and age already.

"Well, I'm… I live alone in the new apartment complex not too far from here. The one with the little garden area out front." It was fairly new, only having been built about a year or so ago.

He nodded to show he knew what I was talking about, so I continued.

"I drive up to the university in the city for classes. I'm trying to get a degree in education so I can be a teacher, later on. It's what I'm interested in."

"Really?" He asked. "I can imagine you working in, well, security and all that. Maybe a police officer, but a teacher?"

Shrugging, I explained, "I like working with children, explaining things and all of that. I'm not really cut out for high schoolers, but I like the idea of teaching little kids basic math and writing and such. I only took this job because I was having some debt problems, and I took the semester off to find full-time work."

I expected him to ask something else, but instead he just looked away, almost grimly. "Did you notice you talked in the present tense? 'I drive' and 'I'm trying to get a degree.'"

He was right. "Because I still don't want to accept what's happened."

He shook his head. "It's denial," he muttered, but said nothing more. Maybe that was a good thing, because he was right. I was in denial. I understood I was dead, but there was still a part of myself that wanted to keep on telling me that everything was okay and that things would continue on normally after this all blew over. It was like I was completely ignoring the fact that not only was I dead, but I was now possessing an animatronic wolf. It was madness.

Absolute insanity.

I shook my head slightly, in vain, an attempt to clear it.

Shifting slightly, I too turned away. Tamarin seemed nice, he just said the wrongs things, took implications the wrong way. So easy to do the wrong thing.

"Um..." I glanced over to where Foxy was standing at the point where the curtains met. They were still closed, although I had some sort of suspicion that Foxy had been looking out through them and making faces at the group out on the stage.

He continued once he realized he had my attention. "Well, uh, you said you wanted to be a teacher. And I just wanted to know if… maybe… you could teach me how to read."

He couldn't read? The obviousness of the situation just seemed to hit me all at once. Of course he couldn't- he would have been a yound child. He was illiterate, wouldn't be able to recite the times tables or list cloud types.

Olive was older, but even she wouldn't have been in anything higher than eighth or ninth grade. These were all children whose lives, homes, families had been ripped away from them. They didn't know life, and they didn't need to. They were all dead, "living" false lives that lead them to be unknown and unheard of.

It was a story that no one would ever know, wasn't it?

"Of course I will," I answered Foxy in what may have been considered an overly sympathetic tone. I felt bad, I really did. There was nothing I could do yet, but I really did want to help them. Maybe after six, before the pizzeria opened, I would be able to do something.

But not yet. It was nearly midnight. There was the sound of footsteps, and a door opening and closing. That was Fritz, heading out. A few minutes later, the ringing of a phone echoed around the building. There was no fancy bells at the start of the night shift, just the phone call. She must have picked up the phone, because I could hear Tamarin's voice, albeit muffled and slightly distorted considering there was considerable distance and a few walls between us.

I knew what he said in the recording, which had been set to automatically send to the office phone during the week.

"Uh, hello? Hello? Uh, well, if you're hearing this and you made it to day two, congrats!"

That was the cheery yet horribly nervous beginning, serving as a reminder that you were in a very bad position yet trying to make you feel as good as you could about it. He then went on to give a reminder about checking the cameras, using your door lights, and giving tips about Freddy and Foxy. He closed with some hasty reassurance.

Then, you were left to your own devices. With any luck you wouldn't die.

 **~#*#~**

The bell rang, and Lori predictably left as quickly as she could, barely pausing to tug on her coat and grab her purse. With that, she was gone until the next night.

I didn't want to face the next day. All that it entitled was the next in an endless wave of days, every single one the exact same. It reminded me of the feeling you received when doing an undesirable task. The first minute or two was okay. After that? Nothing but the slow loss of hope when you realise that it was far from over.

I stepped down from the stage. I hadn't moved at all that night, not wanting to scare the nightguard any more than they already had.

Glancing around, I saw the three on the stage be joined by Foxy as they sat down, legs dangling over the edge. Just a group of goofy friends hanging out to relieve their boredom. I could only imagine the divides that came up when one of them got into a fight. I noticed Bonnie look up after Foxy said something to him.

Spring slunk out of the kitchen, but at the moment I could honestly care less what he was doing or where he was going. As for everyone else, they seemed content enough to stay in their own little spots.

I rubbed my arm uncomfortably before turning to go to the office. Maybe I could steal some paper from there, and pencils. It felt odd, really, going to seek out these things to teach them. Although, if I really thought about it, this was some twist of fate way for me to do what I always wanted, even under the circumstances.

Life, death, fate, and joy can be strange sometimes and maybe it's not our place to interfere.

Or maybe, just maybe, I was acting more than a little loopy. Whatever the case, it didn't matter.

I stopped for a moment when I heard Tamarin approach me from behind, animatronic feet hitting the tiled floor. I looked over my shoulder, but waited a few moments for him to walk up to me.

"What're you doing?" I asked him. He only shrugged, so I chose not to ask anything further and took the remaining steps to the office, passing by the supply closet on the way. I turned left into the open doorway only to give a sudden jump back as I came face to face with Spring.

The two of us exchanged confused looks, and Tamarin helpfully voiced the question: "Why are you over here?"

Spring gave me an unimpressed look. "Am I now banned from the office as well?" He turned away from us, going back to whatever he had been doing. Stooping down, he started to rifle through a small stack of papers.

"Just curious, you don't need to bite."

He mockingly raised up his arms, but wasn't meeting my gaze. "I'll try not to, I've never found wolf to be particularly appetizing."

I vaguely wondered if he had ever eaten realy wolf meat, or even dog for that matter. He didn't seem to be exactly a well cultured man, one who had traveled to many places and seen many things. If anything he was just messing with me. Either that or this was some sort of incredibly roundabout way of apologizing, although in all honestly that seemed highly unlikely.

"Spring, just stop. Get whatever it is you're looking for, then just go," Tamarin said.

"I can't find it and that's just the problem, isn't it? I wouldn't be looking otherwise," Spring replied in the most patronizing, condescending way possible.

Tamarin pushed past me and into the office, standing beside Spring. Tamarin lifted a stack of papers, finding a notepad underneath. He handed it to me along with a few pencils and a pen he grabbed from the little cup set on the desk beside the fan. I had been the one to put it there, not too long ago.

Spring had been watching this with an incredibly annoyed expression with a bit of simple unamusement but said nothing. It seemed that whatever friendship Tamarin claimed they used to have either prevented him from completely ripping Tamarin's head off, or he decided it was too easy to do it right now and was devising some sort of devious plot to do it later. I wasn't going to put it past him.

"There. Now, uh, go back to whatever you were doing, whatever it was that you were searching for," Tamarin told him uncertainly, taking a half step away from the scowling golden rabbit.

Spring sighed loudly, lightly tapping his fingers on the desk. He suddenly whipped around and snatched the pad of paper away from me, and one of the pens. Flipping the cover back, he tore off the first page. Pressing on the desk he quickly scribbled something on it, but didn't look up at either of us. I suppose that's a good thing, considering that if you're not looking at where you're writing the text always seems to go off the lines in crazy directions.

I can credit him to one thing, however: I never knew that it was possible to write so viciously. Had this not been Spring I may have voiced it, but it was. He finished the short note, folded the paper in half to obscure the message, and set it back on the desk before taking a few steps back, handing me the notepad and pen.

"It's not here, so if you've got any other random business here then go right ahead. I'm done."

And with that, he left. As he did, I saw an indecisive look flit over his face and he paused for the slightest of moments, as if not sure whether or not he should leave. He was in here before we were and came in with a purpose, I just had no idea what he was really planning to do. Whatever it was he seemed to decide that it was better just to go.

Tamarin reached out to the desk, grabbing the note. He opened it up, looking to see the contents inside. Glancing at it from over his shoulder, I listened as he read the note.

"Night guard, listen. Please don't be an emotional idiot. You may not know it, but you have friends here in the night, despite how much it sounds like stupid poetry. We can't do everything, though. Keep your reflexes fast and never miss a beat or else you'll be dead. Oh, and as much as it pains you to do so, actually listen to the recordings. They're useful."

I read the signature after Tamarin finished speaking. "Signed, IDP."

I could only guess that those were Spring's initials, of his real name, and that he wanted to warn Lori.

Tamarin just sighed loudly. "I can't believe this," he muttered. "At least he's honest, I suppose."

Yeah. Brutally honest, it seemed. "Why would he write this?" I asked.

Tamarin shrugged, still looking at the note. "He probably wrote this because he knows he'll be annoyed by me 'whining'. Although to be honest, I've got no clue why he came here in the first place."

Well, he wasn't the only one.

No one seemed to have any idea of what was going on here.

* * *

 **A/N:** Hm, it seems that there is an update here. I don't really have much else to say.

 **~#*#~**

 **RougeSpirit:** Poor Spring. You will always be my favorite.

 **Spring(trap):** Yeah, don't give me sympathy. I'm not some little kid and I don't care about being you're favorite.


End file.
